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GBX vs. WAB: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Transportation - Equipment and Leasing sector have probably already heard of Greenbrier Companies (GBX - Free Report) and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB - 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.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Greenbrier Companies has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that GBX'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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

GBX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.53, while WAB has a forward P/E of 28.45. We also note that GBX has a PEG ratio of 1.42. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. WAB currently has a PEG ratio of 2.47.

Another notable valuation metric for GBX is its P/B ratio of 1.36. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, WAB has a P/B of 3.71.

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

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


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Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (The) (GBX) - free report >>

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (WAB) - free report >>