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In the parlance of Wall Street, a clean story means that investors can expect favorable business conditions that lead to steady growth. With medical hygiene specialist Steris, investors won’t have to get their hands dirty.

Steris products are likely to be found at healthcare sites like emergency rooms and dialysis centers, as well as drug manufacturing plants. The company sells capital equipment like steam sterilizers and single-use products like cleaning supplies and it generates additional revenue from servicing its equipment. Roughly 80% of the company’s top line recurs from year to year. As an extra benefit, some research and manufacturing expenses overlap across its business segments, which means that new investments can potentially generate extra sales.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in short-term disruptions to elective medical procedures, Steris is in position to benefit from favorable long-term demographic trends such as an aging population. And the company has found new growth opportunities of late: Steris’s $4.6 billion acquisition of Cantel Medical, which closed in June, gives the company a foothold in dental care.

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In the current fiscal year, which ends in May, Steris expects $4.6 billion in sales, good for about 10% growth when adjusting for the acquisition. Steris also projects free cash flow of $400 million, which is more than triple the fiscal 2016 haul of $129 million. Underlying cash flow is even stronger because it includes $200 million in expenses from the Cantel deal closing that won’t recur.

An investment in Steris, like in any stock, carries some risks. For example, buyers of capital equipment like hospitals are subject to government reimbursement rules, which could change for the worse. While that scenario would sting Steris shareholders, it is also unlikely: Infection control in a healthcare setting isn’t optional, and that attitude is unlikely to change once the pandemic abates.

By traditional metrics, the stock isn’t especially cheap. It trades at about 28 times this year’s adjusted profit forecast, and the company’s debt-adjusted market value tops five times this year’s projected revenue. The stock has more than tripled over the past five years

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But Steris looks like a screaming bargain compared with some of the highflying stocks that characterize today’s market. The strong cash flow generation and predictable sales growth at Steris are traits that resemble a high-quality subscription business. A software developer with a similar growth and profitability outlook generally trades at 20 times sales or more and investors don’t flinch.

It turns out that a clean operating room and a glistening portfolio fit together like a hand and a glove.

Write to Charley Grant at charles.grant@wsj.com