Back to top

Image: Bigstock

ADUS vs. USPH: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare sector might want to consider either Addus HomeCare (ADUS - Free Report) or U.S. Physical Therapy (USPH - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, Addus HomeCare has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while U.S. Physical Therapy has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ADUS likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than USPH has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

ADUS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 32.41, while USPH has a forward P/E of 123.03. We also note that ADUS has a PEG ratio of 2.16. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. USPH currently has a PEG ratio of 10.25.

Another notable valuation metric for ADUS is its P/B ratio of 2.93. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, USPH has a P/B of 3.87.

These metrics, and several others, help ADUS earn a Value grade of B, while USPH has been given a Value grade of C.

ADUS sticks out from USPH in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that ADUS is the better option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Addus HomeCare Corporation (ADUS) - free report >>

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (USPH) - free report >>

Published in