Analyzing C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) and Firstgroup (OTCMKTS:FGROY)

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) and Firstgroup (OTCMKTS:FGROY) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
C.H. Robinson Worldwide	1	8	16	1	2.65
Firstgroup	0	0	1	0	3.00

C.H. Robinson Worldwide presently has a consensus target price of $149.48, indicating a potential downside of 7.02%. Given C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe C.H. Robinson Worldwide is more favorable than Firstgroup.

Risk & Volatility

C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Firstgroup has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Firstgroup”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
C.H. Robinson Worldwide	$17.72 billion	1.07	$465.69 million	$4.93	32.61
Firstgroup	$6.46 billion	0.24	$162.68 million	N/A	N/A

C.H. Robinson Worldwide has higher revenue and earnings than Firstgroup.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.2% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of C.H. Robinson Worldwide shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Firstgroup shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

C.H. Robinson Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Firstgroup pays an annual dividend of $0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide pays out 51.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has raised its dividend for 27 consecutive years.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
C.H. Robinson Worldwide	3.64%	34.77%	11.71%
Firstgroup	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

C.H. Robinson Worldwide beats Firstgroup on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Firstgroup

FirstGroup plc provides public transport services in the United Kingdom. The company operates through First Bus and First Rail segments. The First Bus segment offers local bus services with a fleet of approximately 4,800 buses in the United Kingdom. The First Rail segment operates a passenger rail network that provides long-distance, commuter, regional, and sleeper services through a portfolio of Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, and Avanti West Coast franchises; and hull trains and Lumos. FirstGroup plc was founded in 1986 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.