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Should Value Investors Buy Hub Group (HUBG) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Hub Group (HUBG - Free Report) . HUBG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.66. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.03. Over the last 12 months, HUBG's Forward P/E has been as high as 31.41 and as low as 11.43, with a median of 18.11.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HUBG's P/B ratio of 1.35. 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. HUBG's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.27. Over the past 12 months, HUBG's P/B has been as high as 2.49 and as low as 1.32, with a median of 2.02.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. HUBG has a P/S ratio of 0.28. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.69.

Finally, investors should note that HUBG has a P/CF ratio of 3.72. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. HUBG's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 14.25. HUBG's P/CF has been as high as 14.89 and as low as 3.64, with a median of 7.42, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Hub Group's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that HUBG is an impressive value stock right now.


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