J B Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) and Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and risk.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares J B Hunt Transport Services and Landstar System's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| J B Hunt Transport Services | $9.17 billion | 1.36 | $516.32 million | $4.89 | 24.18 |
| Landstar System | $4.08 billion | 1.05 | $227.72 million | $5.72 | 19.58 |
J B Hunt Transport Services has higher revenue and earnings than Landstar System. Landstar System 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.
Dividends
J B Hunt Transport Services pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Landstar System pays an annual dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. J B Hunt Transport Services pays out 22.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Landstar System pays out 12.9% 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 16 consecutive years and Landstar System has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. J B Hunt Transport Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
73.7% of J B Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of J B Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Landstar System shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares J B Hunt Transport Services and Landstar System's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| J B Hunt Transport Services | 5.71% | 24.76% | 10.15% |
| Landstar System | 5.16% | 28.99% | 15.21% |
Risk and Volatility
J B Hunt Transport Services has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Landstar System has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for J B Hunt Transport Services and Landstar System, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| J B Hunt Transport Services | 1 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 2.18 |
| Landstar System | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.09 |
J B Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus price target of $112.8125, indicating a potential downside of 4.61%. Landstar System has a consensus price target of $108.90, indicating a potential downside of 2.78%. Given Landstar System's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Landstar System is more favorable than J B Hunt Transport Services.
Summary
J B Hunt Transport Services beats Landstar System on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
