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ARCB vs. ODFL: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Transportation - Truck stocks are likely familiar with ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, ArcBest is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Old Dominion Freight Line 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 grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

ARCB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.73, while ODFL has a forward P/E of 39.58. We also note that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 1.78. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ODFL currently has a PEG ratio of 4.17.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 1.05. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ODFL has a P/B of 7.74.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ARCB's Value grade of A and ODFL's Value grade of D.

ARCB stands above ODFL thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ARCB is the superior value option right now.


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

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