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

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Investors with an interest in Transportation - Truck stocks have likely encountered both Werner Enterprises (WERN - Free Report) and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, both Werner Enterprises and Old Dominion Freight Line are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

WERN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.05, while ODFL has a forward P/E of 32.65. We also note that WERN has a PEG ratio of 1.08. 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 1.49.

Another notable valuation metric for WERN is its P/B ratio of 2.47. 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. By comparison, ODFL has a P/B of 9.37.

Based on these metrics and many more, WERN holds a Value grade of A, while ODFL has a Value grade of F.

Both WERN and ODFL are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that WERN is the superior value option right now.


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

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