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WERN vs. JBHT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Transportation - Truck stocks are likely familiar with Werner Enterprises (WERN - Free Report) and JB Hunt (JBHT - Free Report) . 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Werner Enterprises has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while JB Hunt has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that WERN has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

WERN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.75, while JBHT has a forward P/E of 24.22. We also note that WERN has a PEG ratio of 1.36. 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. JBHT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.91.

Another notable valuation metric for WERN is its P/B ratio of 2.38. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, JBHT has a P/B of 7.24.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WERN's Value grade of A and JBHT's Value grade of C.

WERN 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 WERN is likely the superior value option right now.


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J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) - free report >>

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN) - free report >>