U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL) versus Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) Financial Analysis

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) and U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

25.5% of Universal Logistics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.6% of U-Haul shares are owned by institutional investors. 73.6% of Universal Logistics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 43.6% of U-Haul shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Universal Logistics and U-Haul”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	0.24	$129.91 million	($1.52)	-10.94
U-Haul	$5.83 billion	N/A	$367.09 million	$1.01	55.84

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Universal Logistics and U-Haul, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Universal Logistics	1	2	0	0	1.67
U-Haul	1	0	0	1	2.50

Universal Logistics presently has a consensus price target of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.19%. Given Universal Logistics’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Universal Logistics is more favorable than U-Haul.

Profitability

This table compares Universal Logistics and U-Haul’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%
U-Haul	3.90%	2.99%	1.12%

Volatility and Risk

Universal Logistics has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U-Haul has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

U-Haul beats Universal Logistics on 8 of the 13 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 U-Haul

AMERCO operates as a do-it-yourself moving and storage operator for household and commercial goods in the United States and Canada. The company’s Moving and Storage segment rents trucks, trailers, portable moving and storage units, specialty rental items, and self-storage spaces primarily to the household movers; and sells moving supplies, towing accessories, and propane. It also provides uhaul.com, an online marketplace that connects consumers to independent Moving Help service providers and independent self-storage affiliates; auto transport and tow dolly options to transport vehicles; and specialty boxes for dishes, computers, and sensitive electronic equipment, as well as tapes, security locks, and packing supplies. This segment rents its products and services through a network of approximately 2,065 company operated retail moving stores and 20,100 independent U-Haul dealers. As of March 31, 2020, it had a rental fleet of approximately 176,000 trucks, 127,000 trailers, and 41,000 towing devices; and 1,745 self-storage locations with approximately 774,000 rentable storage units. The company’s Property and Casualty Insurance segment offers loss adjusting and claims handling services. It also provides moving and storage protection packages, such as Safemove and Safetow packages, which offer moving and towing customers with a damage waiver, cargo protection, and medical and life insurance coverage; Safestor that protects storage customers from loss on their goods in storage; Safestor Mobile, which protects customers stored belongings; and Safemove Plus, which provides rental customers with a layer of primary liability protection. The company’s Life Insurance segment provides life and health insurance products primarily to the senior market through the direct writing and reinsuring of life insurance, medicare supplement, and annuity policies. AMERCO was founded in 1945 and is based in Reno, Nevada.