Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 3 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Ground Transportation industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Ground Transportation Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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3 Undervalued Ground Transportation Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 3 undervalued stocks in the Ground Transportation industry for Wednesday, December 17, 2025. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Ground Transportation industry median.

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Heartland Express, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Heartland Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short, medium, and long-haul truckload carrier and transportation services provider in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services. The company offers its services under the Heartland Express, Millis Transfer, Smith Transport, and CFI brand names. It primarily serves retailers, manufacturers, and parcel carriers in consumer goods, appliances, food products, and automotive industries. Heartland Express, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Heartland Express, Inc. has a Value Score of 88, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Heartland Express, Inc.’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.84 compared to the industry median at 1.05, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Heartland Express, Inc.’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Heartland Express, Inc.’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 8.3, when compared to the industry median of 12.5, the company may be considered undervalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Heartland Express, Inc.’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 1.00%. Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Heartland Express, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 2.17. This could make Heartland Express, Inc. more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. operates as a vehicle rental company. It operates through two segments: Americas RAC and International RAC. The company offers vehicle rental services under the Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty brands from company-operated, licensee, and franchisee locations in the United States, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and New Zealand. It also sells vehicles and value-added services. Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Estero, Florida.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. has a Value Score of 89, which is considered to be undervalued.

You can read more about Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Marten Transport, Ltd.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Marten Transport, Ltd. operates as a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier for shippers in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It operates through four segments: Truckload, Dedicated, Intermodal, and Brokerage. The Truckload segment transports food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment, as well as dry freight; and regional short-haul and medium-to-long-haul full-load transportation services. The Dedicated segment offers customized transportation solutions for individual customers’ requirements using temperature-controlled trailers, dry vans, and other specialized equipment. The Intermodal segment transports customers’ freight utilizing its refrigerated containers and temperature-controlled trailers on railroad flatcars for portions of trips, as well as using tractors and contracted carriers. The Brokerage segment develops contractual relationships with and arranges for third-party carriers to transport freight for customers in temperature-controlled trailers and dry vans. As of December 31, 2024, the company operated a fleet of 3,006 tractors that included 2,918 company-owned tractors and 88 tractors supplied by independent contractors. Marten Transport, Ltd. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Marten Transport, Ltd. has a Value Score of 61, which is considered to be undervalued.

Marten Transport, Ltd.’s price-earnings ratio is 48.9 compared to the industry median at 31.6. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Marten Transport, Ltd. less attractive for value investors.

Marten Transport, Ltd.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Marten Transport, Ltd. less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.17.

You can read more about Marten Transport, Ltd.’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Other Ground Transportation Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Ground Transportation stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 3 Best Ground Transportation Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

• Heartland Express, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Marten Transport, Ltd. stock has a Value Grade of B.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 3 undervalued stocks in the Ground Transportation industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Additional Resources About Ground Transportation Stocks

Want to learn more about Ground Transportation stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

• 3 Undervalued Ground Transportation Stocks for Wednesday, December 17
• Is Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) Overvalued?
• Is Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) Overvalued?
• Is Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) Overvalued?

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.