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LTH vs. PACS: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Medical Services stocks have likely encountered both Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (LTH - Free Report) and PACS Group, Inc. (PACS - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while PACS Group, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that LTH's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 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.

LTH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 33.09, while PACS has a forward P/E of 40.15. We also note that LTH has a PEG ratio of 2.46. 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. PACS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.68.

Another notable valuation metric for LTH is its P/B ratio of 2.12. 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, PACS has a P/B of 10.90.

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

LTH has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than PACS, so it seems like value investors will conclude that LTH is the superior option right now.


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