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Are These Transportation Stocks Undervalued 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, 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.

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.

Safe Bulkers (SB - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. SB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 3.62, while its industry has an average P/E of 4.50. SB's Forward P/E has been as high as 6.65 and as low as 2.68, with a median of 3.75, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for SB is its P/B ratio of 0.79. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.15. Over the past year, SB's P/B has been as high as 1.12 and as low as 0.46, with a median of 0.75.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that SB has a P/CF ratio of 2.02. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 4.08. Within the past 12 months, SB's P/CF has been as high as 6.38 and as low as 1.45, with a median of 2.55.

If you're looking for another solid Transportation - Shipping value stock, take a look at ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM - Free Report) . ZIM is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Furthermore, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services holds a P/B ratio of 1.80 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.15. ZIM's P/B has been as high as 11.12, as low as -21.22, with a median of 1.79 over the past 12 months.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Safe Bulkers and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, SB and ZIM look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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