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STNG or KEX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Transportation - Shipping stocks are likely familiar with Scorpio Tankers (STNG - Free Report) and Kirby (KEX - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Scorpio Tankers has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Kirby has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that STNG has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

STNG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 4.85, while KEX has a forward P/E of 18.64. We also note that STNG has a PEG ratio of 0.15. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. KEX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.55.

Another notable valuation metric for STNG is its P/B ratio of 1.28. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, KEX has a P/B of 1.30.

These metrics, and several others, help STNG earn a Value grade of B, while KEX has been given a Value grade of D.

STNG has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than KEX, so it seems like value investors will conclude that STNG is the superior option right now.


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