DVA or AMED: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors with an interest in Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare stocks have likely encountered both DaVita HealthCare (DVA) and Amedisys (AMED). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. 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.

Right now, DaVita HealthCare is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Amedisys has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that DVA is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

DVA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.67, while AMED has a forward P/E of 34.24. We also note that DVA has a PEG ratio of 0.95. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. AMED currently has a PEG ratio of 2.84.

Another notable valuation metric for DVA is its P/B ratio of 9.01. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, AMED has a P/B of 9.86.

These metrics, and several others, help DVA earn a Value grade of A, while AMED has been given a Value grade of C.

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

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DaVita Inc. (DVA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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