Investors looking for stocks in the Transportation - Truck sector might want to consider either ArcBest (ARCB) or JB Hunt (JBHT). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
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.
Right now, ArcBest is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while JB Hunt has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that ARCB's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.
ARCB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.16, while JBHT has a forward P/E of 30.68. We also note that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 0.39. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. JBHT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.85.
Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 2.26. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, JBHT has a P/B of 5.77.
Based on these metrics and many more, ARCB holds a Value grade of A, while JBHT has a Value grade of C.
ARCB has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than JBHT, so it seems like value investors will conclude that ARCB is the superior option right now.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks 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
ArcBest Corporation (ARCB): Free Stock Analysis Report
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).