Financial Contrast: United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) vs. Air T (NASDAQ:AIRT)

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) and Air T (NASDAQ:AIRT) are both transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares United Parcel Service and Air T”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Parcel Service	$91.07 billion	0.94	$5.78 billion	$6.86	14.76
Air T	$286.83 million	0.21	-$6.82 million	($0.28)	-80.29

United Parcel Service has higher revenue and earnings than Air T. Air T is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Parcel Service, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares United Parcel Service and Air T’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Parcel Service	6.44%	40.15%	9.65%
Air T	-0.27%	-12.16%	-0.44%

Volatility & Risk

United Parcel Service has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air T has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.3% of United Parcel Service shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.9% of Air T shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of United Parcel Service shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 67.7% of Air T shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for United Parcel Service and Air T, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Parcel Service	2	12	11	1	2.42
Air T	0	0	0	0	0.00

United Parcel Service presently has a consensus target price of $120.26, suggesting a potential upside of 18.81%. Given United Parcel Service’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe United Parcel Service is more favorable than Air T.

Summary

United Parcel Service beats Air T on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc., a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of express letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States. The International Package segment provides guaranteed day and time-definite international shipping services comprising guaranteed time-definite express options in Europe, Asia, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, and Latin America. The company also offers international air and ocean freight forwarding, post-sales, and mail and consulting services. In addition, it provides truckload and customs brokerage services; supply chain solutions to the healthcare and life sciences industries; fulfillment and transportation management services; and integrated supply chain and shipment insurance solutions. United Parcel Service, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Air T

Air T, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides overnight air cargo, ground equipment sale, and commercial jet engines and parts in the United States and internationally. The Overnight Air Cargo segment offers air express delivery services. As of March 31, 2023, this segment had 85 aircraft under the dry-lease agreements with FedEx. The Ground Equipment Sales segment manufactures, sells, and services aircraft deicers, scissor-type lifts, military and civilian decontamination units, flight-line tow tractors, glycol recovery vehicles, and other specialized equipment. This segment sells its products to passenger and cargo airlines, ground handling companies, the United States Air Force, airports, and industrial customers. The Commercial Aircraft, Engines and Parts segment offers commercial aircraft trading, leasing, and parts solutions; commercial aircraft storage, storage maintenance, and aircraft disassembly/part-out services; commercial aircraft parts sales, exchanges, procurement services, consignment programs, and overhaul and repair services; and aircraft instrumentation, avionics, and a range of electrical accessories for civilian, military transport, regional/commuter and business/commercial jet, and turboprop aircraft. This segment also provides composite aircraft structures, and repair and support services. Air T, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Denver, North Carolina.