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Are Investors Undervaluing Heartland Express (HTLD) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Heartland Express (HTLD - Free Report) . HTLD is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 17.70, which compares to its industry's average of 24.31. HTLD's Forward P/E has been as high as 29.59 and as low as 17.63, with a median of 22.77, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for HTLD is its P/B ratio of 2.14. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.05. HTLD's P/B has been as high as 2.70 and as low as 1.89, with a median of 2.44, over the past year.

Finally, our model also underscores that HTLD has a P/CF ratio of 8.55. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 14.67. HTLD's P/CF has been as high as 10.31 and as low as 7.45, with a median of 9.46, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Heartland Express's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, HTLD looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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