Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should Value Investors Buy These Transportation Stocks?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Capital Product Partners (CPLP - Free Report) . CPLP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 3.65, which compares to its industry's average of 4.14. Over the last 12 months, CPLP's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.55 and as low as 3.47, with a median of 5.41.

We should also highlight that CPLP has a P/B ratio of 0.62. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 0.99. Over the past year, CPLP's P/B has been as high as 0.65 and as low as 0.34, with a median of 0.50.

Finally, investors should note that CPLP has a P/CF ratio of 2.48. 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. CPLP's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 6.08. Within the past 12 months, CPLP's P/CF has been as high as 2.71 and as low as 1.68, with a median of 2.09.

Another great Transportation - Shipping stock you could consider is ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM - Free Report) , which is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services sports a P/B ratio of 1.87 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 0.99. In the past 52 weeks, ZIM's P/B has been as high as 11.79, as low as -21.22, with a median of 2.06.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Capital Product Partners and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services'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 CPLP and ZIM is an impressive value stock right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Capital Product Partners L.P. (CPLP) - free report >>

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (ZIM) - free report >>

Published in