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ECHO vs. ASR: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Transportation - Services sector have probably already heard of Echo Global Logistics and Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASR - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Echo Global Logistics and Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ECHO has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

ECHO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 30, while ASR has a forward P/E of 36.72. We also note that ECHO has a PEG ratio of 1.71. 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. ASR currently has a PEG ratio of 8.35.

Another notable valuation metric for ECHO is its P/B ratio of 1.87. 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, ASR has a P/B of 1.90.

Based on these metrics and many more, ECHO holds a Value grade of A, while ASR has a Value grade of D.

ECHO 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 ECHO is likely the superior value option right now.


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