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ARCB vs. SAIA: 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 ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) or Saia (SAIA - 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.

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.

Right now, ArcBest is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Saia has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). 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 piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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 11.16, while SAIA has a forward P/E of 32.26. We also note that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 0.48. 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. SAIA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.08.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 1.91. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SAIA has a P/B of 6.30.

Based on these metrics and many more, ARCB holds a Value grade of A, while SAIA has a Value grade of D.

ARCB stands above SAIA 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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