Reviewing RXO (NYSE:RXO) & J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) and RXO (NYSE:RXO) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares J.B. Hunt Transport Services and RXO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	5.31%	18.75%	8.46%
RXO	-1.72%	-0.98%	-0.45%

Volatility and Risk

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RXO has a beta of 2.1, suggesting that its stock price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.0% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of RXO shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of RXO shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares J.B. Hunt Transport Services and RXO”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	$12.00 billion	2.04	$598.28 million	$7.06	36.97
RXO	$5.74 billion	0.63	-$100.00 million	($0.61)	-36.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has higher revenue and earnings than RXO. RXO 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for J.B. Hunt Transport Services and RXO, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	1	9	14	2	2.65
RXO	4	10	5	0	2.05

J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus target price of $286.30, indicating a potential upside of 9.68%. RXO has a consensus target price of $23.85, indicating a potential upside of 8.62%. Given J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe J.B. Hunt Transport Services is more favorable than RXO.

Summary

J.B. Hunt Transport Services beats RXO on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions. It operates 118,171 pieces of company-owned trailing equipment; owns and maintains its chassis fleet of 100,825 units; and manages a fleet of 5,944 company-owned tractors, 436 independent contractor trucks, and 7,567 company drivers. The DCS segment designs, develops, and executes supply chain solutions that support various transportation networks. As of December 31, 2023, it operated 12,574 company-owned trucks, 674 customer-owned trucks, and 4 contractor trucks. The company also operates 27,194 owned pieces of trailing equipment and 5,406 customer-owned trailers. The ICS segment provides freight brokerage and transportation logistics solutions; flatbed, refrigerated, expedited, and less-than-truckload, as well as dry-van and intermodal solutions; online multimodal marketplace; and logistics management for customers to outsource their transportation functions. The FMS segment offers delivery services through 1,166 company-owned trucks, 225 customer-owned trucks, and 20 independent contractor trucks; and 1,212 owned pieces of trailing equipment and 102 customer-owned trailers. The JBT segment provides dry-van freight services by utilizing tractors and trailers operating over roads and highways through 27 company-owned tractors and 13,561 company-owned trailers. It also transports or arranges for the transportation of freight, such as general merchandise, specialty consumer items, appliances, forest and paper products, food and beverages, building materials, soaps and cosmetics, automotive parts, agricultural products, electronics, and chemicals. The company was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas.

About RXO

RXO, Inc. provides full truckload freight transportation brokering services. It also offers brokered services for managed transportation, last mile, and freight forwarding. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.