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TNK vs. KEX: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Transportation - Shipping stocks have likely encountered both Teekay Tankers (TNK - Free Report) and Kirby (KEX - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Teekay Tankers has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Kirby has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that TNK's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

TNK currently has a forward P/E ratio of 4.21, while KEX has a forward P/E of 16.88. We also note that TNK has a PEG ratio of 1.40. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. KEX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.41.

Another notable valuation metric for TNK is its P/B ratio of 1.42. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, KEX has a P/B of 1.58.

Based on these metrics and many more, TNK holds a Value grade of B, while KEX has a Value grade of C.

TNK has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than KEX, so it seems like value investors will conclude that TNK is the superior option right now.


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