Comparing Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) & ETS (NASDAQ:ETS)

ETS (NASDAQ:ETS) and Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ETS and Hub Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ETS	$2.67 million	10.83	-$2.19 million	($0.16)	-10.81
Hub Group	$3.73 billion	0.49	$103.99 million	$1.73	17.43

Hub Group has higher revenue and earnings than ETS. ETS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hub Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

46.8% of Hub Group shares are held by institutional investors. 24.9% of ETS shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Hub Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for ETS and Hub Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ETS	1	0	0	0	1.00
Hub Group	0	11	5	0	2.31

Hub Group has a consensus price target of $41.31, suggesting a potential upside of 37.01%. Given Hub Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Hub Group is more favorable than ETS.

Profitability

This table compares ETS and Hub Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ETS	-157.04%	-30.26%	-29.59%
Hub Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Hub Group beats ETS on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ETS

Elite Express Holding Inc. is a holding company which conducts its operations through its wholly owned subsidiary, JAR Transportation Inc. It provides last-mile delivery services, primarily focused on transporting packages from distribution centers to end customers. Elite Express Holding Inc. is based in LAGUNA HILLS, Calif.

About Hub Group

Hub Group, Inc., a supply chain solutions provider, offers transportation and logistics management services in North America. The company's transportation services include intermodal, truckload, less-than-truckload, flatbed, temperature-controlled, and dedicated and regional trucking, as well as final mile, railcar, small parcel, and international transportation. Its logistics services comprise full outsource logistics solution, transportation management, freight consolidation, warehousing and fulfillment, final mile delivery, and parcel and international services. The company also provides dry van, expedited, less-than-truckload, refrigerated, and flatbed truck brokerage services. It offers a fleet of approximately 2,300 tractors, 460 independent owner-operators, and 4,300 trailers to its customers, as well as the management and infrastructure. The company serves a range of industries, including retail, consumer products, and durable goods. As of December 31, 2023, it owned approximately 50,000 dry, 53-foot containers, as well as 900 refrigerated and 53-foot containers. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois.