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ZTO or TFII: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Transportation - Services sector have probably already heard of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (ZTO - Free Report) and TFI International Inc. (TFII - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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, ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while TFI International Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ZTO has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

ZTO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.82, while TFII has a forward P/E of 23.63. We also note that ZTO has a PEG ratio of 4.13. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. TFII currently has a PEG ratio of 5.67.

Another notable valuation metric for ZTO is its P/B ratio of 1.36. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, TFII has a P/B of 3.08.

Based on these metrics and many more, ZTO holds a Value grade of B, while TFII has a Value grade of D.

ZTO 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 ZTO is likely the superior value option right now.


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