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ARCB vs. ODFL: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Transportation - Truck stocks have likely encountered both ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

ArcBest has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Old Dominion Freight Line has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ARCB likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ODFL has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

ARCB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 31.40, while ODFL has a forward P/E of 40.54. We also note that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 3.55. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. ODFL currently has a PEG ratio of 4.28.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 1.05. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ODFL has a P/B of 7.34.

These metrics, and several others, help ARCB earn a Value grade of A, while ODFL has been given a Value grade of D.

ARCB sticks out from ODFL in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that ARCB is the better option right now.


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Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (ODFL) - free report >>

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