Back to top

Image: Bigstock

SAIA or ODFL: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in stocks from the Transportation - Truck sector have probably already heard of Saia (SAIA - Free Report) and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Saia has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Old Dominion Freight Line has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that SAIA is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

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.

SAIA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 29.66, while ODFL has a forward P/E of 39.01. We also note that SAIA has a PEG ratio of 2.34. 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. ODFL currently has a PEG ratio of 4.11.

Another notable valuation metric for SAIA is its P/B ratio of 3.92. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ODFL has a P/B of 7.72.

These metrics, and several others, help SAIA earn a Value grade of B, while ODFL has been given a Value grade of D.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (ODFL) - free report >>

Saia, Inc. (SAIA) - free report >>

Published in