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ECHO or ZTO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Transportation - Services sector have probably already heard of Echo Global Logistics and ZTO Express Cayman Inc. (ZTO - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Echo Global Logistics and ZTO Express Cayman Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This means that ECHO'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 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 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.

ECHO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 27.52, while ZTO has a forward P/E of 35.47. We also note that ECHO has a PEG ratio of 1.53. 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. ZTO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.29.

Another notable valuation metric for ECHO is its P/B ratio of 1.54. 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, ZTO has a P/B of 4.01.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ECHO's Value grade of A and ZTO's Value grade of D.

ECHO is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that ECHO is likely the superior value option right now.


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