Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare sector have probably already heard of Addus HomeCare (ADUS) and Astrana Health, Inc. (ASTH). 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.

Addus HomeCare has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Astrana Health, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now. This means that ADUS's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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.

ADUS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.68, while ASTH has a forward P/E of 38.09. We also note that ADUS has a PEG ratio of 1.90. 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. ASTH currently has a PEG ratio of 2.07.

Another notable valuation metric for ADUS is its P/B ratio of 2.37. 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, ASTH has a P/B of 3.

Based on these metrics and many more, ADUS holds a Value grade of B, while ASTH has a Value grade of C.

ADUS is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that ADUS is likely the superior value option right now.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Addus HomeCare Corporation (ADUS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Astrana Health, Inc. (ASTH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research