PDCO vs. MMSI: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Dental Supplies sector might want to consider either Patterson Cos. (PDCO) or Merit Medical (MMSI). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Patterson Cos. and Merit Medical are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

PDCO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.78, while MMSI has a forward P/E of 28.64. We also note that PDCO has a PEG ratio of 1.91. 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. MMSI currently has a PEG ratio of 2.60.

Another notable valuation metric for PDCO is its P/B ratio of 2.83. 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, MMSI has a P/B of 4.06.

Based on these metrics and many more, PDCO holds a Value grade of A, while MMSI has a Value grade of C.

Both PDCO and MMSI are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that PDCO is the superior value option right now.

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Patterson Companies, Inc. (PDCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (MMSI) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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