C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ: CHRW) and Swift Transportation (NYSE:SWFT) are both mid-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitabiliy, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Volatility and Risk
C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Swift Transportation has a beta of 1.97, meaning that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Swift Transportation’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| C.H. Robinson Worldwide | $13.90 billion | 0.67 | $848.19 million | $3.40 | 19.30 |
| Swift Transportation | $4.01 billion | 0.84 | $480.95 million | $0.90 | 28.11 |
C.H. Robinson Worldwide has higher revenue and earnings than Swift Transportation. C.H. Robinson Worldwide is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Swift Transportation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Swift Transportation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| C.H. Robinson Worldwide | 3.49% | 37.41% | 12.84% |
| Swift Transportation | 2.99% | 22.23% | 5.56% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings for C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Swift Transportation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| C.H. Robinson Worldwide | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Swift Transportation | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2.63 |
C.H. Robinson Worldwide currently has a consensus price target of $69.83, suggesting a potential upside of 6.44%. Swift Transportation has a consensus price target of $27.85, suggesting a potential upside of 10.06%. Given Swift Transportation’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Swift Transportation is more favorable than C.H. Robinson Worldwide.
Dividends
C.H. Robinson Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Swift Transportation does not pay a dividend. C.H. Robinson Worldwide pays out 52.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Swift Transportation has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
87.3% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.0% of Swift Transportation shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 44.9% of Swift Transportation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Swift Transportation beats C.H. Robinson Worldwide on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About C.H. Robinson Worldwide
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. is a provider of transportation services and logistics solutions through a network of offices operating in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America. The Company’s segments include North American Surface Transportation (NAST), Global Forwarding, Robinson Fresh, and All Other and Corporate. The NAST segment provides freight transportation services across North America through a network of offices in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The primary services provided by Global Forwarding segment include ocean freight services, air freight services, and customs brokerage. The Robinson Fresh segment provides sourcing under the trade name Robinson Fresh. The All Other and Corporate segment primarily consists of Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation outside of North America. It develops global transportation and distribution networks to provide transportation and supply chain services throughout the world.
About Swift Transportation
Swift Transportation Company is a multi-faceted transportation services company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company operated fleets of truckload equipment in North America from over 40 terminals near key freight centers and traffic lanes. The Company’ segments include Truckload, Dedicated, Swift Refrigerated and Intermodal. The Company’s other segments include its logistics and freight brokerage services, as well as support services that its subsidiaries provide to customers and owner-operators, including repair and maintenance shop services, equipment leasing, and insurance. As of December 31, 2016, the Company’s fleet consisted of 13,937 company tractors and 4,429 owner-operator tractors, as well as 64,066 trailers, and 9,131 intermodal containers. Its suite of service offerings include line-haul services, dedicated customer contracts, temperature-controlled units, intermodal freight solutions, flatbed hauling, freight brokerage and logistics.
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