Back to top

Image: Bigstock

AL or GBX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in stocks from the Transportation - Equipment and Leasing sector have probably already heard of Air Lease (AL - Free Report) and Greenbrier Companies (GBX - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Air Lease and Greenbrier Companies are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that AL's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

AL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.66, while GBX has a forward P/E of 22.87. We also note that AL has a PEG ratio of 0.54. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. GBX currently has a PEG ratio of 3.27.

Another notable valuation metric for AL is its P/B ratio of 0.68. 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, GBX has a P/B of 1.21.

Based on these metrics and many more, AL holds a Value grade of B, while GBX has a Value grade of C.

AL 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 AL is likely the superior value option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Air Lease Corporation (AL) - free report >>

Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (The) (GBX) - free report >>

Published in