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Is CAI International (CAI) Stock Undervalued 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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company to watch right now is CAI International . CAI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.25. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.07. Over the past year, CAI's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.76 and as low as 3.84, with a median of 7.29.

Another notable valuation metric for CAI is its P/B ratio of 0.65. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 0.92. Within the past 52 weeks, CAI's P/B has been as high as 0.88 and as low as 0.32, with a median of 0.65.

Finally, we should also recognize that CAI has a P/CF ratio of 3.16. 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 current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 4.93. Over the past 52 weeks, CAI's P/CF has been as high as 3.46 and as low as 1.27, with a median of 2.56.

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

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