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Are These Transportation Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

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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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Matson (MATX - Free Report) . MATX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.24. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.83. Over the past year, MATX's Forward P/E has been as high as 17.20 and as low as 5.08, with a median of 9.97.

Another notable valuation metric for MATX is its P/B ratio of 3.09. 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 4.04. Over the past 12 months, MATX's P/B has been as high as 3.47 and as low as 2.31, with a median of 2.76.

Schneider National (SNDR - Free Report) may be another strong Transportation - Services stock to add to your shortlist. SNDR is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Schneider National currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 11.23, and its PEG ratio is 0.54. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 12.83 and 0.68.

SNDR's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 16.10 and as low as 10.67, with a median of 12.11, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.62 and as low as 0.51, with a median of 0.69, all within the past year.

Schneider National sports a P/B ratio of 2.03 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 4.04. In the past 52 weeks, SNDR's P/B has been as high as 2.23, as low as 1.67, with a median of 1.97.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Matson and Schneider National'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 MATX and SNDR is an impressive value stock right now.


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