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ARCB vs. JBHT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Transportation - Truck stocks have likely encountered both ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) and JB Hunt (JBHT - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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 both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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 8.60, while JBHT has a forward P/E of 21.99. We also note that ARCB has a PEG ratio of 0.23. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. JBHT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.47.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCB is its P/B ratio of 2.41. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, JBHT has a P/B of 6.36.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ARCB's Value grade of A and JBHT's Value grade of D.

Both ARCB and JBHT are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that ARCB is 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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