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ARCB or ODFL: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Transportation - Truck sector have probably already heard of ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, ArcBest has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Old Dominion Freight Line has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ARCB likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ODFL has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ARCB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.98, while ODFL has a forward P/E of 24.18. We also note that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 0.25. 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. ODFL currently has a PEG ratio of 1.34.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 2.03. 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 8.98.

Based on these metrics and many more, ARCB holds a Value grade of B, while ODFL has 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 >>

ArcBest Corporation (ARCB) - free report >>

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