Should Value Investors Pick Cardinal Health (CAH)?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Cardinal Health, Inc. CAH stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Cardinal Health has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 14.26, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 19.84. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts Cardinal Health’s current PE ratio below its midpoint over the past five years, with the number having fallen steadily over the past few months.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks classified Medical/Dental Supplies industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 16.84. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Cardinal Health has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 13.39, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Cardinal Health stock in the near term too.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Cardinal Health has a P/S ratio of about 0.17. This is much lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 2.84 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

PEG Ratio

While earnings are certainly important, it is essential to know how much you are paying for the growth of earnings as well. One can easily do that with the PEG ratio (ratio of the P/E to the expected future earnings growth rate).The PEG ratio gives a more complete picture of the valuation of a stock than the P/E ratio.

Cardinal Health’s PEG ratio stands at just 1.40, compared with the Zacks Medical/Dental-Supplies industry average of 1.82. This suggests a decent undervalued trading relative to its earnings growth potential right now.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Cardinal Health currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of ‘A’, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Cardinal Health a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Cardinal Health might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of ‘C’ and a Momentum score of ‘F’. This gives CAH a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘B’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been declining. The current quarter has seen seven estimates go lower in the past sixty days compared to none higher, while the full year estimate has seen eight down and one up in the same time period.

This has impacted the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has fallen by 9.5% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has inched lower by 2%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

CARDINAL HEALTH Price and Consensus

CARDINAL HEALTH Price and Consensus | CARDINAL HEALTH Quote

This somewhat mixed trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Cardinal Health is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past year, the Zacks Medical/Dental-Supplies industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for estimates and analyst sentiment to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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