Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are These Transportation Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

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, 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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Textainer Group . TGH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 6.32, while its industry has an average P/E of 11.88. Over the past year, TGH's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.11 and as low as 5.51, with a median of 6.85.

Another notable valuation metric for TGH is its P/B ratio of 1.27. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 1.66. Over the past 12 months, TGH's P/B has been as high as 1.40 and as low as 0.94, with a median of 1.21.

Finally, investors should note that TGH has a P/CF ratio of 3.32. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 8.63. Over the past 52 weeks, TGH's P/CF has been as high as 4.27 and as low as 2.98, with a median of 3.39.

Another great Transportation - Equipment and Leasing stock you could consider is Triton , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Shares of Triton are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 6.23 and a PEG ratio of 0.62 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 11.88 and 0.99, respectively.

TRTN's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 8.26 and as low as 5.82, with a median of 6.41, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.83 and as low as 0.58, with a median of 0.64, all within the past year.

Triton sports a P/B ratio of 1.89 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.66. In the past 52 weeks, TRTN's P/B has been as high as 2.04, as low as 1.46, with a median of 1.70.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Textainer Group and Triton are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, TGH and TRTN sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

Published in