Critical Survey: Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) & Kuehne & Nagel International (OTCMKTS:KHNGY)

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) and Kuehne & Nagel International (OTCMKTS:KHNGY) are both transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

Universal Logistics pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Kuehne & Nagel International pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Universal Logistics pays out -27.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kuehne & Nagel International pays out 61.7% 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

25.5% of Universal Logistics shares are owned by institutional investors. 73.6% of Universal Logistics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Universal Logistics and Kuehne & Nagel International”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Universal Logistics	$1.85 billion	0.21	$129.91 million	($1.52)	-9.82
Kuehne & Nagel International	$28.18 billion	0.93	$1.34 billion	$2.01	21.53

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

Volatility and Risk

Universal Logistics has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kuehne & Nagel International has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Universal Logistics and Kuehne & Nagel International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Universal Logistics	-2.46%	6.49%	2.26%
Kuehne & Nagel International	4.01%	40.03%	8.48%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Universal Logistics and Kuehne & Nagel International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Universal Logistics	2	1	0	0	1.33
Kuehne & Nagel International	2	3	0	0	1.60

Universal Logistics presently has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.86%. Given Universal Logistics’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Universal Logistics is more favorable than Kuehne & Nagel International.

Summary

Kuehne & Nagel International beats Universal Logistics on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Kuehne & Nagel International

Kuehne + Nagel International AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated logistics services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Sea Logistics, Air Logistics, Road Logistics, and Contract Logistics. It offers less-than-container load, reefer and project logistics, and flexible container shipping solutions. The company also provides time-critical solutions, sea-air and time-defined products, airside and air charter services, cargo insurance, and customs clearance services. In addition, it offers spare parts logistics, production, and e-commerce logistics, distribution, packaging, and process solutions. Further, the company provides supply chain consulting and order management services. It serves aerospace, automotive, mobility, consumer, healthcare, high-tech and semicon, industrial, and perishables industries. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Schindellegi, Switzerland. Kuehne + Nagel International AG is a subsidiary of Kuehne Holding AG.