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PCAR or TSLA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Automotive - Domestic stocks have likely encountered both Paccar (PCAR - Free Report) and Tesla (TSLA - 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 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.

Right now, Paccar is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Tesla has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). This means that PCAR's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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 grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

PCAR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.48, while TSLA has a forward P/E of 67.47. We also note that PCAR has a PEG ratio of 1.79. 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. TSLA currently has a PEG ratio of 3.51.

Another notable valuation metric for PCAR is its P/B ratio of 3.89. 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, TSLA has a P/B of 8.60.

These metrics, and several others, help PCAR earn a Value grade of A, while TSLA has been given a Value grade of F.

PCAR 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 PCAR is likely the superior value option right now.


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