J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) Competitors

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) and J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Is ARCB or JBHT more profitable?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a net margin of 4.65% compared to ArcBest's net margin of 4.37%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services' return on equity of 14.07% beat ArcBest's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ArcBest	4.37%	10.05%	5.35%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	4.65%	14.07%	6.74%

Do analysts rate ARCB or JBHT?

ArcBest currently has a consensus price target of $89.42, suggesting a potential upside of 7.60%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus price target of $163.43, suggesting a potential upside of 7.60%. Given J.B. Hunt Transport Services' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe J.B. Hunt Transport Services is more favorable than ArcBest.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ArcBest	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.46
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59

Does the media refer more to ARCB or JBHT?

In the previous week, J.B. Hunt Transport Services had 18 more articles in the media than ArcBest. MarketBeat recorded 21 mentions for J.B. Hunt Transport Services and 3 mentions for ArcBest. J.B. Hunt Transport Services' average media sentiment score of 0.88 beat ArcBest's score of 0.61 indicating that J.B. Hunt Transport Services is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
ArcBest	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, ARCB or JBHT?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has higher revenue and earnings than ArcBest. ArcBest is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than J.B. Hunt Transport Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ArcBest	$4.18B	0.46	$173.96M	$7.56	10.99
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	$12.09B	1.25	$570.89M	$5.51	27.56

Is ARCB or JBHT a better dividend stock?

ArcBest pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. ArcBest pays out 6.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays out 31.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. J.B. Hunt Transport Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, ARCB or JBHT?

ArcBest has a beta of 1.71, meaning that its stock price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a beta of 1.29, meaning that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ARCB or JBHT?

99.3% of ArcBest shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of ArcBest shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

J.B. Hunt Transport Services beats ArcBest on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.