Swift Transportation (NYSE: SWFT) and YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ:YRCW) are both transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitabiliy, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and risk.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Swift Transportation and YRC Worldwide’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Swift Transportation | $4.01 billion | 0.88 | $480.95 million | $0.90 | 29.22 |
| YRC Worldwide | $4.75 billion | 0.09 | $252.50 million | ($0.02) | -632.68 |
Swift Transportation has higher revenue, but lower earnings than YRC Worldwide. YRC 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.
Volatility and Risk
Swift Transportation has a beta of 1.96, suggesting that its stock price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, YRC Worldwide has a beta of 3.74, suggesting that its stock price is 274% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Swift Transportation and YRC Worldwide’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Swift Transportation | 2.99% | 22.23% | 5.56% |
| YRC Worldwide | N/A | -0.70% | 0.16% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
75.2% of Swift Transportation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.1% of YRC Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. 44.9% of Swift Transportation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of YRC Worldwide shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Swift Transportation and YRC Worldwide, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Swift Transportation | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2.63 |
| YRC Worldwide | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.60 |
Swift Transportation presently has a consensus price target of $27.85, indicating a potential upside of 5.88%. YRC Worldwide has a consensus price target of $16.33, indicating a potential upside of 29.02%. Given YRC Worldwide’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe YRC Worldwide is more favorable than Swift Transportation.
Summary
Swift Transportation beats YRC Worldwide on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
Swift Transportation Company Profile
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.
YRC Worldwide Company Profile
YRC Worldwide Inc. is a holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, offers its customers a range of transportation services. The Company operates through two segments: YRC Freight and Regional Transportation. The Company has less-than-truckload (LTL) networks in North America with local, regional, national and international capabilities. YRC Freight segment offers a range of services for the transportation of industrial, commercial and retail goods in national, regional and international markets, primarily through the operation of owned or leased equipment in its North American ground distribution network. It provides transportation services for various categories of goods, which include apparel, appliances, automotive parts, chemicals, food, furniture, glass, machinery, metal and metal products. YRC Worldwide Inc. brands include YRC, YRC Reimer, YRC Glen Moore, YRC Logistics, New Penn, Holland and Reddaway.
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