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WERN vs. LSTR: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Transportation - Truck sector might want to consider either Werner Enterprises (WERN - Free Report) or Landstar System (LSTR - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, both Werner Enterprises and Landstar System are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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.

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.

WERN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.77, while LSTR has a forward P/E of 17.34. We also note that WERN has a PEG ratio of 0.97. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. LSTR currently has a PEG ratio of 1.44.

Another notable valuation metric for WERN is its P/B ratio of 2.36. 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, LSTR has a P/B of 7.17.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WERN's Value grade of A and LSTR's Value grade of C.

Both WERN and LSTR are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that WERN is the superior value option right now.


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Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR) - free report >>

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