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ARCB or JBHT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Transportation - Truck sector might want to consider either ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) or JB Hunt (JBHT - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

ArcBest and JB Hunt are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ARCB likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than JBHT has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

ARCB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.54, while JBHT has a forward P/E of 27.74. We also note that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 0.30. 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. JBHT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.85.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 2.76. 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, JBHT has a P/B of 6.83.

These metrics, and several others, help ARCB earn a Value grade of B, while JBHT has been given a Value grade of C.

ARCB is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that ARCB is likely the superior value option right now.


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J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) - free report >>

ArcBest Corporation (ARCB) - free report >>

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