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

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Investors interested in Transportation - Equipment and Leasing stocks are likely familiar with Greenbrier Companies (GBX - Free Report) and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, Greenbrier Companies has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that GBX likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than WAB has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

GBX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.19, while WAB has a forward P/E of 18.20. We also note that GBX has a PEG ratio of 0.97. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. WAB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.58.

Another notable valuation metric for GBX is its P/B ratio of 0.93. 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. By comparison, WAB has a P/B of 2.33.

These metrics, and several others, help GBX earn a Value grade of A, while WAB has been given a Value grade of C.

GBX sticks out from WAB in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that GBX is the better option right now.


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

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

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