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Is ArcBest (ARCB) 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 value investors might notice is ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) . ARCB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.58, while its industry has an average P/E of 20.94. Over the past 52 weeks, ARCB's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.26 and as low as 10.10, with a median of 12.96.

ARCB is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.48. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ARCB's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.25. Over the last 12 months, ARCB's PEG has been as high as 2.19 and as low as 0.45, with a median of 1.16.

We should also highlight that ARCB has a P/B ratio of 1.68. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.85. ARCB's P/B has been as high as 2.70 and as low as 0.95, with a median of 1.46, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. ARCB has a P/S ratio of 0.48. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.34.

Finally, investors should note that ARCB has a P/CF ratio of 7.14. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. ARCB's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.03. ARCB's P/CF has been as high as 11.47 and as low as 5.02, with a median of 7.14, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in ArcBest's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that ARCB is an impressive value stock right now.


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