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Should Value Investors Buy ArcBest (ARCB) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) . ARCB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 12.87 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 30.21. Over the past year, ARCB's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.34 and as low as 6.45, with a median of 12.24.

ARCB is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.31. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. ARCB's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.59. Within the past year, ARCB's PEG has been as high as 2.19 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 1.29.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 1.52. 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 stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 3.05. Over the past year, ARCB's P/B has been as high as 1.52 and as low as 0.54, with a median of 0.95.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. ARCB has a P/S ratio of 0.42. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.22.

Finally, our model also underscores that ARCB has a P/CF ratio of 8.02. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 14.67. Within the past 12 months, ARCB's P/CF has been as high as 8.04 and as low as 2.78, with a median of 5.07.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in ArcBest'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, ARCB looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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