US transport stocks are on the right road
Many US stocks cheapened during the first quarter’s choppy trading scene, relieving some concern investors had about lofty valuations.
But the companies that move goods in a humming economy now look to be among the market’s best bargains, as long as the US-China trade dispute doesn’t derail their outlook.
Railway and road transport stocks took a hit in late January, just like the rest of the market.
From its record high on January 26, the S&P 500 slumped more than 10 per cent in less than two weeks to enter a correction, and the S&P 1500 road and rail index fell 9.1 per cent.
Demand to move US goods by rail, lorry and ship, however, has held firm so far this year.
So the shippers emerged from the tumult with some of their cheapest valuations in years, thanks to an atypical phenomenon: as their share prices were falling, their earnings expectations were moving up sharply – meaning their priceto-earnings ratios fell by an even wider margin.
Eric Marshall, portfolio manager and director of research at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas, Texas, said the volatility seen in the first quarter was healthy for the entire market, resetting expectations and keeping excess valuations from bubbling up.
That valuation reset may mean more upside for these stocks if earnings reports validate those optimistic profit forecasts.
Now that it has occurred, people have gone back in, reevaluated the fundamentals and those stocks are starting to work their way back up off of a base, Mr Marshall said.
J B Hunt Transportation may provide investors with a template of what to expect. The shares fell more than 13 per cent between late January and early April. But its forward P/E ratio slumped by twice that margin, 27 per cent, contracting from 27.2 to 19.8, below its five-year average of 21.5.
By comparison, the full S&P 500’s P/E ratio contracted by about 12 per cent to 16.3, and still sits above its historic average of 15.1.
The stock surged more than 6 per cent in the wake of its earnings on Monday, its best day in five years. Nine of the analysts tracking the stock have raised their price targets.
On the rail side, CSX saw its forward PE drop from 22.02 in mid-January to 16.05 on February 8, well below its five-year average of 19.9. Its shares rose nearly 8 per cent last Wednesday, its best day in six years, following its quarterly results to send the stock to a record closing high of $61.01.
A big concern, however, is an escalation of the trade dispute between the US and China, which was a primary cause of the recent downturn for the group.
The United States imposed a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imports on March 23 and a 25 per cent duty on steel imports. US President Donald Trump called for the tariffs to protect US metal makers from cheap imports.
A strengthening economy, however, is likely to overpower those concerns and shipping companies are primed to benefit.
In a recent note to clients, Morgan Stanley noted its TLFI index, which measures the incremental supply and demand for dry-van truckload services, has done better than its typical performance for this time of the year despite a decline over the past two weeks.
The index is projected above levels last seen in 2014, but below the fourth-quarter of 2017. When a given reading is above a prior year’s level, it means there is more freight demand relative to available capacity, according to the firm.
Earnings are expected at the end of April and early May from rail and road names such as Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and Genesee & Wyoming, as well as road transport companies KnightSwift and Heartland Express.
Each are at, or below, their twoyear average forward PE.
While these stocks are poised to benefit from continued economic growth, they could also be susceptible to another bout of trade war concerns, even if they are relatively insulated from the global economy.
A Reuters poll of more than 500 economists worldwide showed the global economy will race ahead this year, expanding at its fastest pace since 2010, but trade protectionism has the potential to derail that momentum.
“These stocks will see bigger up days and bigger low days, but over the long term the fundamentals will lay out,” said Jim Corridore, analyst at CFRA in New York.
“Of course, if the economy blows up because of trade wars, that is a risk that has to be thought about, but I just don’t see it happening at this time.”