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Are Investors Undervaluing CAI International (CAI) Right Now?

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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 use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 stock to keep an eye on is CAI International . CAI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 5.85, which compares to its industry's average of 14.99. Over the past year, CAI's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.23 and as low as 4.95, with a median of 6.47.

Investors will also notice that CAI has a PEG ratio of 0.73. 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. CAI's industry has an average PEG of 1.45 right now. Over the last 12 months, CAI's PEG has been as high as 1.53 and as low as 0.62, with a median of 0.81.

We should also highlight that CAI has a P/B ratio of 0.80. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.63. Within the past 52 weeks, CAI's P/B has been as high as 1.50 and as low as 0.67, with a median of 0.86.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CAI has a P/CF ratio of 2.30. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. CAI's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 5.51. Over the past year, CAI's P/CF has been as high as 5.01 and as low as 2.07, with a median of 2.67.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that CAI International is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CAI feels like a great value stock at the moment.