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KNX vs. SAIA: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Transportation - Truck sector might want to consider either Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX - Free Report) or Saia (SAIA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings and Saia are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (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. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

KNX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.19, while SAIA has a forward P/E of 17.93. We also note that KNX has a PEG ratio of 0.68. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. SAIA currently has a PEG ratio of 0.87.

Another notable valuation metric for KNX is its P/B ratio of 1.36. 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. By comparison, SAIA has a P/B of 4.48.

Based on these metrics and many more, KNX holds a Value grade of A, while SAIA has a Value grade of C.

Both KNX and SAIA are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that KNX is the superior value option right now.


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