Critical Survey: Schneider National (NYSE:SNDR) and TFI International (NYSE:TFII)

Schneider National (NYSE:SNDR) and TFI International (NYSE:TFII) are both mid-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Schneider National and TFI International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Schneider National	2.29%	4.39%	2.70%
TFI International	4.48%	15.45%	5.72%

Risk & Volatility

Schneider National has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TFI International has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Schneider National and TFI International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Schneider National	0	8	5	1	2.50
TFI International	1	6	10	2	2.68

Schneider National presently has a consensus target price of $27.2857, suggesting a potential upside of 10.20%. TFI International has a consensus target price of $117.1250, suggesting a potential upside of 31.88%. Given TFI International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe TFI International is more favorable than Schneider National.

Dividends

Schneider National pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. TFI International pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Schneider National pays out 54.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TFI International pays out 41.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Schneider National has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. TFI International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

28.5% of Schneider National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.3% of TFI International shares are held by institutional investors. 23.4% of Schneider National shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of TFI International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Schneider National and TFI International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Schneider National	$5.29 billion	0.82	$117.00 million	$0.70	35.37
TFI International	$8.40 billion	0.88	$422.48 million	$4.36	20.37

TFI International has higher revenue and earnings than Schneider National. TFI International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Schneider National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

TFI International beats Schneider National on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Schneider National

Schneider National, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides surface transportation and logistics solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates through three segments: Truckload, Intermodal, and Logistics. The Truckload segment offers over the road freight transportation services primarily through dry van, bulk, temperature-controlled, and flat-bed trailers across either network or dedicated configurations. The Intermodal segment provides door-to-door container on flat car services through a combination of rail and dray transportation using company-owned containers, chassis, and trucks. The Logistics segment offers asset-light freight brokerage, supply chain, warehousing, and import/export services to manage and move its customers' freight. The company leases equipment, such as trucks to owner-operators; and provides insurance for the company drivers and owner-operators. Schneider National, Inc. was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About TFI International

TFI International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides transportation and logistics services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Package and Courier, Less-Than-Truckload (LTL), Truckload (TL), and Logistics segments. The Package and Courier segment engages in the pickup, transport, and delivery of items in North America. The LTL segment is involved in the pickup, consolidation, transportation, and delivery of smaller loads. The TL segment offers expedited transportation, flatbed, tank, container, and dedicated services. This segment also carries full loads directly from the customer to the destination using a closed van or specialized equipment. The Logistics segment provides asset-light logistics services, including brokerage, freight forwarding, and transportation management, as well as small package parcel delivery. As of December 31, 2023, it operates 11,455 trucks, 34,599 trailers, and 7,504 independent contractors. The company was formerly known as TransForce Inc. and changed its name to TFI International Inc. in December 2016. TFI International Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.