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WERN vs. HTLD: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Transportation - Truck stocks are likely familiar with Werner Enterprises (WERN - Free Report) and Heartland Express (HTLD - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Werner Enterprises and Heartland Express are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that WERN's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

WERN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.78, while HTLD has a forward P/E of 24.46. We also note that WERN has a PEG ratio of 1.09. 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. HTLD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.63.

Another notable valuation metric for WERN is its P/B ratio of 2.09. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, HTLD has a P/B of 2.79.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WERN's Value grade of A and HTLD's Value grade of C.

WERN 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 WERN is likely the superior value option right now.


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Heartland Express, Inc. (HTLD) - free report >>

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