The healthcare sector has always been one of the most promising sectors, as new healthcare services are in high demand. Given the increasing demand for healthcare products, most healthcare companies have had excellent returns for shareholders. In the last decade, this sector has had higher returns than any other sector in the S&P. However, it is important to carefully select the best stocks to invest in the sector. Therefore, we analyzed all large-cap U.S.-based companies that are in the healthcare sector, based on their market capitalizations, dividend yields, current and forward P/E ratios, EPS Growth, PEGs, profit margins and Beta values. Here are the results:
Highest Market Capitalization: The biggest companies in our research list are all in the drug manufacturing business. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest company with a current market cap of $164.47 billion, followed by Pfizer (PFE) ($163.74 billion) and Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) ($104.39 billion).
Lowest Market Capitalization: Mylan (MYL) has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, followed by Boston Scientific (BSX) ($10.89 billion) and Zimmer Holdings (ZMH) ($11.57 billion).
The Best
Best Dividend Yield: Eli Lilly (LLY) has the best dividend yield of 5.48%, followed by Bristol-Myers (BMY) (4.78%) and Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) (4.49%).
Lowest P/E Ratio: Two of the lowest current P/E ratios belong to companies in the health plans industry. Eli Lilly (LLY) has the lowest P/E ratio of 7.79, followed by Aetna (AET) and CIGNA (CI), each of which have P/E ratios of 9.06 and 9.07, respectively. Lowest P/E ratios indicate safe and high returns to value investors.
Lowest PEG: PEG is based on analyst predictions about future profits, unlike the P/E ratio. Aetna (AET) has the lowest PEG of 0.81, followed by Gilead Sciences (GILD) (0.83) and WellPoint (WLP) (0.94). Low
