Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) versus XPO (NYSE:XPO) Financial Contrast

XPO (NYSE:XPO) and Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares XPO and Universal Logistics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
XPO	4.71%	29.64%	6.75%
Universal Logistics	-3.16%	1.99%	0.62%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for XPO and Universal Logistics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
XPO	1	5	19	1	2.77
Universal Logistics	1	2	0	0	1.67

XPO presently has a consensus price target of $224.05, indicating a potential upside of 23.14%. Universal Logistics has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential downside of 12.82%. Given XPO’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe XPO is more favorable than Universal Logistics.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares XPO and Universal Logistics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
XPO	$8.16 billion	2.61	$316.00 million	$3.39	53.67
Universal Logistics	$1.56 billion	0.29	-$99.87 million	($1.84)	-9.35

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.7% of XPO shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.5% of Universal Logistics shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of XPO shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 73.5% of Universal Logistics 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.

Volatility & Risk

XPO has a beta of 1.85, suggesting that its stock price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Logistics has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

XPO beats Universal Logistics on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About XPO

XPO, Inc. provides freight transportation services in the United States, rest of North America, France, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, North American LTL and European Transportation. The North American LTL segment provides customers with less-than-truckload (LTL) services, such as geographic density and day-definite domestic services. This segment also offers cross-border U.S., Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean, as well as engages in the operation of trailer manufacturing. The European Transportation segment offers dedicated truckload, LTL, truck brokerage, managed transportation, last mile, freight forwarding and multimodal solutions, such as road-rail and road-short sea combinations. It provides its services to customers in various industries, such as industrial and manufacturing, retail and e-commerce, food and beverage, logistics and transportation, and consumer goods. The company was formerly known as XPO Logistics, Inc. and changed its name to XPO, Inc. in December 2022. XPO, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.

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.