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Is ArcBest (ARCB) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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 use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 company value investors might notice is ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) . ARCB is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 5.97 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 15.23. Over the past year, ARCB's Forward P/E has been as high as 97.24 and as low as 5.26, with a median of 10.58.

We should also highlight that ARCB has a P/B ratio of 1.90. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. ARCB's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.34. Over the past 12 months, ARCB's P/B has been as high as 3.30 and as low as 1.53, with a median of 2.19.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. ARCB has a P/S ratio of 0.39. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.05.

Finally, we should also recognize that ARCB has a P/CF ratio of 5.06. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 11.01. ARCB's P/CF has been as high as 11.12 and as low as 4.45, with a median of 6.94, all within the past year.

Investors could also keep in mind Covenant Logistics Group (CVLG - Free Report) , an Transportation - Truck stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Furthermore, Covenant Logistics Group holds a P/B ratio of 1.13 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 3.34. CVLG's P/B has been as high as 1.75, as low as 0.81, with a median of 1.11 over the past 12 months.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in ArcBest and Covenant Logistics Group'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 ARCB and CVLG is an impressive value stock right now.


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