Full Truck Alliance (NYSE:YMM) vs. West Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:WJRYY) Critical Survey

West Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:WJRYY) and Full Truck Alliance (NYSE:YMM) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.0% of Full Truck Alliance shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.5% of Full Truck Alliance shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for West Japan Railway and Full Truck Alliance, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Japan Railway	1	0	0	0	1.00
Full Truck Alliance	0	3	6	0	2.67

Full Truck Alliance has a consensus target price of $11.30, indicating a potential upside of 21.59%. Given Full Truck Alliance’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Full Truck Alliance is more favorable than West Japan Railway.

Profitability

This table compares West Japan Railway and Full Truck Alliance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Japan Railway	6.41%	9.36%	3.21%
Full Truck Alliance	32.68%	10.52%	9.56%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares West Japan Railway and Full Truck Alliance”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Japan Railway	$12.26 billion	0.67	$846.98 million	$1.67	10.75
Full Truck Alliance	$1.79 billion	5.42	$630.36 million	$0.57	16.30

West Japan Railway has higher revenue and earnings than Full Truck Alliance. West Japan Railway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Full Truck Alliance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

West Japan Railway has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Full Truck Alliance has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

West Japan Railway pays an annual dividend of $0.39 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Full Truck Alliance pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. West Japan Railway pays out 23.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Full Truck Alliance pays out 28.1% 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. West Japan Railway is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Full Truck Alliance beats West Japan Railway on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Japan Railway

West Japan Railway Company provides railway transport services in Japan. The company operates through Mobility, Retail, Real Estate, Travel and Regional Solutions, and Other segments. The Mobility segment provides passenger transportation, station operation and management, cleaning and maintenance, construction, machinery and equipment installation, rolling stock and other facility construction services, as well as engages in the railway operations and electric works. The Retail segment sells goods; offers food and other wholesale operation services; and operates department stores. The Real Estate segment sells and leases real estate properties, as well as operates shopping centers and hotels. The Travel and Regional Solutions segment provides travel agency and regional solutions. The Other segment engages in the advertising and other businesses. The company is also involved in the operation of convenience stores, restaurants, and souvenir shops; and provision of credit cards and electronic money services. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Osaka, Japan.

About Full Truck Alliance

Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates a digital freight platform that connects shippers with truckers to facilitate shipments across distance ranges, cargo weights, and types in the People's Republic of China. The company offers freight matching services, such as freight listing and brokerage services; and online transaction services, as well as various value-added services, such as credit solutions, insurance brokerage, software solutions, electronic toll collection, and energy services. It also provides technology development and other services. The company was founded in 2011 and is based in Guiyang, China.