Head-To-Head Comparison: Ryder System (NYSE:R) and Freightcar America (NASDAQ:RAIL)

Ryder System (NYSE:R) and Freightcar America (NASDAQ:RAIL) are both transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Ryder System and Freightcar America, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ryder System	0	2	6	1	2.89
Freightcar America	0	0	1	0	3.00

Ryder System currently has a consensus target price of $186.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.30%. Freightcar America has a consensus target price of $9.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.27%. Given Ryder System’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ryder System is more favorable than Freightcar America.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ryder System and Freightcar America”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ryder System	$12.64 billion	0.57	$489.00 million	$11.76	14.92
Freightcar America	$559.42 million	0.34	-$75.82 million	($0.93)	-10.67

Ryder System has higher revenue and earnings than Freightcar America. Freightcar America is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ryder System, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ryder System and Freightcar America’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ryder System	3.99%	17.83%	3.31%
Freightcar America	-2.79%	-18.77%	9.16%

Volatility & Risk

Ryder System has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Freightcar America has a beta of 1.85, indicating that its share price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.5% of Ryder System shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.0% of Freightcar America shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of Ryder System shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 28.7% of Freightcar America shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Ryder System beats Freightcar America on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ryder System

Ryder System, Inc. operates as a logistics and transportation company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS). The FMS segment offers full-service leasing and leasing with flexible maintenance options; commercial vehicle rental services; and contract or transactional maintenance services of trucks, tractors, and trailers; access to diesel fuel; and fuel planning and tax reporting, cards, and monitoring services, and centralized billing, as well as sells used vehicles through its retail sales centers and www.ryder.com/used-trucks website, as well as digital and technology support services. The DTS segment offers equipment, maintenance, drivers, administrative, and additional services, as well as routing and scheduling, fleet sizing, safety, regulatory compliance, risk management, and technology and communication systems support services. The SCS segment comprises distribution management services, such as designing and managing customer's distribution network and facilities; coordinating warehousing and transportation for inbound and outbound material flows; handling import and export for international shipments; coordinating just-in-time replenishment of component parts to manufacturing and final assembly; and offering shipments to customer distribution centers or end customer delivery points, as well as other value added services, such as light assembly of components. This segment also offers transportation management and brokerage services, such as shipment optimization, load scheduling, and delivery confirmation services; knowledge-based professional services; and e-commerce and last mile services. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida.

About Freightcar America

FreightCar America, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in design, manufacture, and sale of railcars and railcar components for the transportation of bulk commodities and containerized freight products in the United States and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Manufacturing and Parts. The company offers a range of railcars, including open top hoppers, mill gondola cars, intermodal and non-intermodal flat cars, coal cars; bulk commodity cars covered hopper cars, coil steel cars, boxcars, woodchip hoppers, aluminum vehicle carriers, and articulated bulk container railcars. It also sells used railcars; rebuilds, converts, and leases railcars; and sells forged, cast, and fabricated parts for various railcars. The company's customers primarily include shippers, railroads, and financial institutions. FreightCar America, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.