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Are Investors Undervaluing ArcBest (ARCB) Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ARCB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.18. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.13. Over the past year, ARCB's Forward P/E has been as high as 28.44 and as low as 13, with a median of 16.20.

Investors will also notice that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 0.35. 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. ARCB's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.99. Within the past year, ARCB's PEG has been as high as 0.60 and as low as 0.33, with a median of 0.42.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 1.83. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.71. Over the past 12 months, ARCB's P/B has been as high as 1.91 and as low as 1.21, with a median of 1.43.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ARCB has a P/CF ratio of 7.53. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 10.25. ARCB's P/CF has been as high as 7.95 and as low as 4.60, with a median of 6.67, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that ArcBest is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ARCB sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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