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ARCB vs. JBHT: 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 JB Hunt (JBHT - 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 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.

Currently, ArcBest has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while JB Hunt has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ARCB likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than JBHT has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

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 13.69, while JBHT has a forward P/E of 28.03. We also note that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 0.30. 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. JBHT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.87.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 2.82. 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, JBHT has a P/B of 6.90.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ARCB's Value grade of B and JBHT's 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.


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J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) - free report >>

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