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Are Investors Undervaluing CAI International (CAI) Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is CAI International . CAI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.94, while its industry has an average P/E of 14.01. CAI's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.76 and as low as 4.61, with a median of 6.07, all within the past year.

Investors will also notice that CAI has a PEG ratio of 0.67. 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. CAI's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.28. CAI's PEG has been as high as 0.77 and as low as 0.67, with a median of 0.71, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for CAI is its P/B ratio of 0.85. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.29. Within the past 52 weeks, CAI's P/B has been as high as 0.88 and as low as 0.55, with a median of 0.72.

Finally, we should also recognize that CAI has a P/CF ratio of 2.98. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. CAI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.60. Over the past 52 weeks, CAI's P/CF has been as high as 3.08 and as low as 1.66, with a median of 2.21.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in CAI International's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that CAI is an impressive value stock right now.

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