RXO (NYSE:RXO) and J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Critical Comparison

RXO (NYSE:RXO) and J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares RXO and J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RXO	-1.72%	-0.98%	-0.45%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	5.31%	18.75%	8.46%

Risk & Volatility

RXO has a beta of 2.1, meaning that its stock price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.7% of RXO shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of RXO shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares RXO and J.B. Hunt Transport Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RXO	$5.74 billion	0.62	-$100.00 million	($0.61)	-35.53
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	$12.00 billion	2.05	$598.28 million	$7.06	37.14

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has higher revenue and earnings than RXO. RXO is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than J.B. Hunt Transport Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for RXO and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RXO	4	10	5	0	2.05
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	1	9	14	2	2.65

RXO presently has a consensus price target of $23.85, indicating a potential upside of 10.06%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus price target of $286.30, indicating a potential upside of 9.20%. Given RXO’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe RXO is more favorable than J.B. Hunt Transport Services.

Summary

J.B. Hunt Transport Services beats RXO on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RXO

RXO, Inc. provides full truckload freight transportation brokering services. It also offers brokered services for managed transportation, last mile, and freight forwarding. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions. It operates 118,171 pieces of company-owned trailing equipment; owns and maintains its chassis fleet of 100,825 units; and manages a fleet of 5,944 company-owned tractors, 436 independent contractor trucks, and 7,567 company drivers. The DCS segment designs, develops, and executes supply chain solutions that support various transportation networks. As of December 31, 2023, it operated 12,574 company-owned trucks, 674 customer-owned trucks, and 4 contractor trucks. The company also operates 27,194 owned pieces of trailing equipment and 5,406 customer-owned trailers. The ICS segment provides freight brokerage and transportation logistics solutions; flatbed, refrigerated, expedited, and less-than-truckload, as well as dry-van and intermodal solutions; online multimodal marketplace; and logistics management for customers to outsource their transportation functions. The FMS segment offers delivery services through 1,166 company-owned trucks, 225 customer-owned trucks, and 20 independent contractor trucks; and 1,212 owned pieces of trailing equipment and 102 customer-owned trailers. The JBT segment provides dry-van freight services by utilizing tractors and trailers operating over roads and highways through 27 company-owned tractors and 13,561 company-owned trailers. It also transports or arranges for the transportation of freight, such as general merchandise, specialty consumer items, appliances, forest and paper products, food and beverages, building materials, soaps and cosmetics, automotive parts, agricultural products, electronics, and chemicals. The company was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas.