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

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Investors interested in Medical Services stocks are likely familiar with PACS Group, Inc. (PACS - Free Report) and Medpace (MEDP - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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

PACS Group, Inc. and Medpace are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PACS likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than MEDP has recently. 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 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.

PACS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.28, while MEDP has a forward P/E of 29.38. We also note that PACS has a PEG ratio of 1.02. 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. MEDP currently has a PEG ratio of 1.94.

Another notable valuation metric for PACS is its P/B ratio of 4.09. 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, MEDP has a P/B of 12.36.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PACS's Value grade of A and MEDP's Value grade of C.

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


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