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JBLU or BBAVY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Transportation - Airline stocks are likely familiar with JetBlue Airways (JBLU - Free Report) and SIGNATURE AVIAT . 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.

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.

Right now, JetBlue Airways is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while SIGNATURE AVIAT has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). This means that JBLU's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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 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.

JBLU currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.78, while BBAVY has a forward P/E of 18.39. We also note that JBLU has a PEG ratio of 0.35. 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. BBAVY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.04.

Another notable valuation metric for JBLU is its P/B ratio of 1.17. 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, BBAVY has a P/B of 1.73.

Based on these metrics and many more, JBLU holds a Value grade of A, while BBAVY has a Value grade of C.

JBLU stands above BBAVY thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that JBLU is the superior value option right now.


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