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ERFSF or HQY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Medical Services stocks are likely familiar with EUROFINS SCIENT (ERFSF - Free Report) and HealthEquity (HQY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

EUROFINS SCIENT and HealthEquity are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ERFSF is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ERFSF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 24.61, while HQY has a forward P/E of 47.75. We also note that ERFSF has a PEG ratio of 1.51. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. HQY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.39.

Another notable valuation metric for ERFSF is its P/B ratio of 2.60. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, HQY has a P/B of 3.98.

Based on these metrics and many more, ERFSF holds a Value grade of B, while HQY has a Value grade of D.

ERFSF stands above HQY thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ERFSF is the superior value option right now.


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