Financial Comparison: C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) vs. Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH)

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

25.5% of Universal Logistics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. 73.5% of Universal Logistics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Universal Logistics and C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Universal Logistics	-4.29%	2.65%	0.84%
C.H. Robinson Worldwide	3.70%	35.49%	12.25%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Universal Logistics and C.H. Robinson Worldwide, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Universal Logistics	1	2	0	0	1.67
C.H. Robinson Worldwide	1	6	16	0	2.65

Universal Logistics presently has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.84%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a consensus target price of $195.65, suggesting a potential upside of 9.28%. Given Universal Logistics’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Universal Logistics is more favorable than C.H. Robinson Worldwide.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Universal Logistics and C.H. Robinson Worldwide”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Universal Logistics	$1.56 billion	0.25	-$99.87 million	($2.51)	-6.00
C.H. Robinson Worldwide	$16.23 billion	1.30	$587.08 million	$4.94	36.24

C.H. Robinson Worldwide has higher revenue and earnings than Universal Logistics. Universal Logistics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than C.H. Robinson Worldwide, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Universal Logistics has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Universal Logistics pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Universal Logistics pays out -16.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. C.H. Robinson Worldwide pays out 51.0% 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. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years. Universal Logistics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

C.H. Robinson Worldwide beats Universal Logistics on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Universal Logistics

Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. provides transportation and logistics solutions in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Colombia. The company offers truckload services, which include dry van, flatbed, heavy-haul, and refrigerated operations; domestic and international freight forwarding, and customs brokerage services. It transports various commodities comprising automotive parts, machinery, building materials, paper, food, consumer goods, furniture, steel, and other metals. The company also provides value-added services for individual customer requirements, including material handling, consolidation, sequencing, sub-assembly, cross-dock, kitting, repacking, warehousing, and returnable container management; and intermodal support services comprising short-to-medium distance delivery of steamship and rail truck containers between the port or railhead, and the customer. It serves automotive, steel, and other metals, retail and consumer goods, energy, and manufacturing industries, as well as other transportation companies who aggregate loads from various shippers. The company was formerly known as Universal Truckload Services, Inc. and changed its name to Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. in April 2016. Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Warren, Michigan.

About C.H. Robinson Worldwide

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides freight transportation services, and related logistics and supply chain services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: North American Surface Transportation and Global Forwarding. The company offers transportation and logistics services, such as truckload, less than truckload transportation brokerage services, which include the shipment of single or multiple pallets of freight; intermodal transportation that comprises the shipment service of freight in containers or trailers by a combination of truck and rail; and non-vessel operating common carrier and freight forwarding services, as well as organizes air shipments and provides door-to-door services. It also provides customs brokerage services; and other logistics services, such as fee-based managed, warehousing, small parcel, and other services. It has contractual relationships with approximately 45,000 transportation companies, including motor carriers, railroads, and ocean and air carriers. In addition, the company is involved in the buying, selling, and/or marketing of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other value-added perishable items under the Robinson Fresh brand name. Further, the company offers transportation management services or managed TMS; and other surface transportation services. It provides its fresh produce to grocery retailers, restaurants, produce wholesalers, and foodservice distributors through a network of independent produce growers and suppliers. The company was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.