J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) Competitors

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) and Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, community ranking, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Is JBHT or ODFL more profitable?

Old Dominion Freight Line has a net margin of 20.40% compared to J.B. Hunt Transport Services' net margin of 4.72%. Old Dominion Freight Line's return on equity of 28.02% beat J.B. Hunt Transport Services' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	4.72%	14.05%	6.83%
Old Dominion Freight Line	20.40%	28.02%	21.65%

Is JBHT or ODFL a better dividend stock?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Old Dominion Freight Line pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays out 31.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Dominion Freight Line pays out 21.0% 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 better earnings and valuation, JBHT or ODFL?

Old Dominion Freight Line has lower revenue, but higher earnings than J.B. Hunt Transport Services. J.B. Hunt Transport Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Old Dominion Freight Line, 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
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	$12.06B	1.08	$570.89M	$5.51	23.70
Old Dominion Freight Line	$5.73B	5.68	$1.19B	$5.33	28.76

Do insiders & institutionals believe in JBHT or ODFL?

74.9% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.8% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.9% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer JBHT or ODFL?

In the previous week, Old Dominion Freight Line had 15 more articles in the media than J.B. Hunt Transport Services. MarketBeat recorded 35 mentions for Old Dominion Freight Line and 20 mentions for J.B. Hunt Transport Services. J.B. Hunt Transport Services' average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat Old Dominion Freight Line's score of 0.68 indicating that J.B. Hunt Transport Services is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	12 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Old Dominion Freight Line	17 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer JBHT or ODFL?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services received 186 more outperform votes than Old Dominion Freight Line when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 59.12% of users gave J.B. Hunt Transport Services an outperform vote while only 52.86% of users gave Old Dominion Freight Line an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	Outperform Votes 749 59.12%	Underperform Votes 518 40.88%
Old Dominion Freight Line	Outperform Votes 563 52.86%	Underperform Votes 502 47.14%

Do analysts recommend JBHT or ODFL?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus target price of $162.20, indicating a potential upside of 24.22%. Old Dominion Freight Line has a consensus target price of $183.37, indicating a potential upside of 19.63%. 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 Old Dominion Freight Line.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.55
Old Dominion Freight Line	1 Sell rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36

Which has more volatility and risk, JBHT or ODFL?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Old Dominion Freight Line has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Old Dominion Freight Line tied by winning 11 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.