We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Mid Cap Value Stocks To Invest In. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) stands against the other best mid cap value stocks to invest in.

Mid-Cap Stocks are Better in the Near Term

An easing cycle coupled with an upcoming election creates quite the environment for differing opinions to co-exist. On October 9, Jill Carey Hall, Bank of America Global Research head of U.S. small and mid-cap strategy and senior U.S. equity strategist, joined ‘Squawk Box’ on CNBC to discuss her bullish stance on mid-cap stocks, especially in the near term.

Hall stresses that small-cap stocks have been underperforming since the 50 basis point rate cut, going against historical expectations of small-caps performing well in such cases. She emphasized that investors are focused on stocks with stronger fundamentals and small-cap stocks are currently stuck in an earnings recession. We have yet to see a recovery season for small caps, the way we have been seeing it for slightly larger stocks, Carey adds.

READ ALSO: 10 Most Profitable Value Stocks To Invest In and 10 Most Promising Mid-Cap Stocks According to Hedge Funds.

Carey shares that mid-cap stocks are likely to be a “better hedge” in the near term, as they boast stronger fundamentals and have better earnings trends. Overall, she believes that mid-cap stocks have historically performed better than small-caps and are, therefore, a better area to target. She also emphasized that one rate cut is not going to solve the re-financing risk that small-caps, especially companies in real estate and tech, inherently come with.

She adds that investors must focus more on themes rather than specific sectors. However, with the current economic backdrop and a soft landing in sight, she advises investors to remain inclined towards stocks with positive revisions, higher quality, and stronger dividend yields, given that as the Fed continues to cut rates, money is expected to be driven more into equity income.

Carey also shares that the current economic environment has been weak but we may see acceleration after this quarter, keeping in mind that current GDP and jobs data have been “encouraging.” While she upholds an element of uncertainty, she remains focused on less risky and high-quality stocks. As investors look to the Fed as a catalyst for the market, high-quality stocks trading at discounted valuations are likely to reap greater benefits.

Our Methodology

To come up with the 10 best mid-cap value stocks to invest in, we used the Finviz stock screener. We set the market capitalization filter to range between $2 billion and $10 billion and the Forward P/E filter to under 15. We then examined the hedge fund sentiment of these stocks as of Q2 2024 and picked the most popular ones. The stocks are sorted primarily in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders as of Q2 2024 picked from our database and secondarily in order of their forward P/E and market capitalization.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32

Market Capitalization as of October 28, 2024: $9.03 Billion

Forward P/E as of October 28, 2024: 14.7

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) is a healthcare company that engages in the distribution of medical and dental supplies such as vaccines, pharmaceuticals, financial services, and equipment.  The company has been in business for 91 years now and has more than 1 million customers across the globe.

Home to over 300,000 products, Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) is a crucial stakeholder in the healthcare industry, that operates in more than 33 countries and has 58 distribution and manufacturing centers. It ships nearly 141,000 cartons every day and has a strong network of over 3,200 supplier partners and more than 25,000 team members.

In the second quarter of 2024, Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) generated $3.14 billion in revenue and $159 million in operating income. Its global dental segment accounted for most of the sales at $1.92 billion, following my medical sales at $998 million. During the quarter, the company also closed the acquisition of TriMed, a developer of solutions for the orthopedic treatment of lower and upper extremities. The acquisition helped position Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) as a prominent healthcare name providing an extended range of medical care solutions.

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) enjoys a sustainable business model that promises consistent financial performance and sustained results. At the close of Q2 2024, 32 hedge funds were bullish on the stock according to our Insider Monkey database. HSIC is also a cheap stock trading at 14.7 times its forward earnings, a discount of 29% from the sector median. Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance expect the company to increase its earnings by nearly 6% this year.

Fiduciary Management Inc.  stated the following regarding Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) is the largest dental distributor in the world, holding a leading market share position in all of its main geographies, and is also a leader in medical distribution. Henry Schein provides value to both product manufacturers and its customers. Manufacturers benefit from cost effective access to a highly fragmented customer base, as well as sales and marketing support for products. Practitioner customers benefit from timely access to a broad range of products, a reduction in the number of vendors they need to deal with directly, inventory management services, and equipment servicing. Henry Schein also sells practice management software that is used by ~40% of dental practices in the U.S., which is a very sticky business. We expect continued strong long-term growth in spending on dental services, which will be driven by an aging population, along with a focus on preventive care and demand for cosmetic dentistry procedures. Schein’s stock has been under pressure in the near term because it is still recovering from a cyber-attack that took place late last year, and the macro backdrop continues to be challenged, which has led to muted elective/discretionary sales across the business. The stock is trading well below the market, which we view as attractive given its above-average business quality.”

Overall, HSIC ranks 9th among the 10 best mid cap value stocks to invest in. While we acknowledge the potential of HSIC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than HSIC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.