Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA – Get Free Report) and Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and earnings.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Saia and Covenant Logistics Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Saia | $3.23 billion | 2.93 | $255.04 million | $10.36 | 34.25 |
| Covenant Logistics Group | $1.16 billion | 0.77 | $7.24 million | $0.11 | 320.18 |
Profitability
This table compares Saia and Covenant Logistics Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Saia | 8.19% | 10.21% | 7.48% |
| Covenant Logistics Group | 0.31% | 9.14% | 3.68% |
Volatility & Risk
Saia has a beta of 2.14, indicating that its stock price is 114% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Covenant Logistics Group has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Saia and Covenant Logistics Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Saia | 1 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 2.60 |
| Covenant Logistics Group | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3.14 |
Saia presently has a consensus price target of $448.89, suggesting a potential upside of 26.50%. Covenant Logistics Group has a consensus price target of $51.80, suggesting a potential upside of 47.08%. Given Covenant Logistics Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Covenant Logistics Group is more favorable than Saia.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
83.7% of Covenant Logistics Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Saia shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 36.7% of Covenant Logistics Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Saia beats Covenant Logistics Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Saia
Saia, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a transportation company in North America. The company provides less-than-truckload services for shipments between 100 and 10,000 pounds; and other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited, and logistics services. It also offers other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited, and logistics services. As of December 31, 2022, it operated 191 owned and leased facilities; and owned approximately 6,200 tractors and 20,800 trailers. The company operates 194 terminals. The company was formerly known as SCS Transportation, Inc. and changed its name to Saia, Inc. in July 2006. Saia, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia.
About Covenant Logistics Group
Covenant Logistics Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides transportation and logistics services in the United States. It operates through four segments: Expedited, Dedicated, Managed Freight, and Warehousing. The Expedited segment primarily provides truckload services with high service freight and delivery standards, such as 1,000 miles in 22 hours or 15-minute delivery windows. The Dedicated segment provides customers with committed truckload capacity over contracted periods using equipment either owned or leased by the company. The Managed Freight segment offers brokerage services, including logistics capacity by outsourcing the carriage of customers’ freight to third parties; and transport management services, such as logistics services on a contractual basis to customers who prefer to outsource their logistics needs. The Warehousing segment provides day-to-day warehouse management services to customers. The segment also provides shuttle and switching services to shuttling containers and trailers. The company also engages in used equipment sales and leasing business. It serves transportation companies, such as parcel freight forwarders, less-than-truckload carriers, and third-party logistics providers; and traditional truckload customers, including manufacturers, retailers, and food and beverage shippers. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 2,291 tractors and 5,331 trailers. The company was formerly known as Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. and changed its name to Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. in July 2020. Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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