Are These Transportation Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

P.A.M. Transportation Services (PTSI) is a stock many investors are watching right now. PTSI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Another notable valuation metric for PTSI is its P/B ratio of 1.85. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. PTSI's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.99. Over the past year, PTSI's P/B has been as high as 2.35 and as low as 0.85, with a median of 1.35.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. PTSI has a P/S ratio of 1.09. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.25.

Werner Enterprises (WERN) may be another strong Transportation - Truck stock to add to your shortlist. WERN is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Werner Enterprises is currently trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 10.88 while its PEG ratio sits at 0.98. Both of the company's metrics compare favorably to its industry's average P/E of 18.74 and average PEG ratio of 1.18.

WERN's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 15.07 and as low as 10.83, with a median of 12.57, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.50 and as low as 0.86, with a median of 1.03, all within the past year.

Werner Enterprises sports a P/B ratio of 2.13 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 3.99. In the past 52 weeks, WERN's P/B has been as high as 2.78, as low as 2.12, with a median of 2.40.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in P.A.M. Transportation Services and Werner Enterprises'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 PTSI and WERN is an impressive value stock right now.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
P.A.M. Transportation Services, Inc. (PTSI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research