Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) Competitors

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) and Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, community ranking, risk, valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Is JBHT or ODFL more profitable?

Old Dominion Freight Line has a net margin of 21.03% compared to J.B. Hunt Transport Services' net margin of 4.65%. Old Dominion Freight Line's return on equity of 29.40% beat J.B. Hunt Transport Services' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	4.65%	13.92%	6.75%
Old Dominion Freight Line	21.03%	29.40%	22.72%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer JBHT or ODFL?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services received 173 more outperform votes than Old Dominion Freight Line when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 58.93% of users gave J.B. Hunt Transport Services an outperform vote while only 53.74% of users gave Old Dominion Freight Line an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	Outperform Votes 726 58.93%	Underperform Votes 506 41.07%
Old Dominion Freight Line	Outperform Votes 553 53.74%	Underperform Votes 476 46.26%

Does the media prefer JBHT or ODFL?

In the previous week, Old Dominion Freight Line had 6 more articles in the media than J.B. Hunt Transport Services. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Old Dominion Freight Line and 10 mentions for J.B. Hunt Transport Services. J.B. Hunt Transport Services' average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat Old Dominion Freight Line's score of 1.18 indicating that J.B. Hunt Transport Services is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Old Dominion Freight Line	7 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders believe in JBHT or ODFL?

74.9% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.8% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.9% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is JBHT or ODFL a better dividend stock?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Old Dominion Freight Line pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays out 31.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Dominion Freight Line pays out 18.2% 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years. J.B. Hunt Transport Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, JBHT or ODFL?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	$12.24B	1.40	$728.29M	$5.50	30.95
Old Dominion Freight Line	$5.92B	6.54	$1.24B	$5.72	31.71

Do analysts rate JBHT or ODFL?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus target price of $190.11, indicating a potential upside of 11.68%. Old Dominion Freight Line has a consensus target price of $204.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.48%. Given Old Dominion Freight Line's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Old Dominion Freight Line is more favorable than J.B. Hunt Transport Services.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J.B. Hunt Transport Services	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Old Dominion Freight Line	1 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Which has more volatility & risk, JBHT or ODFL?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Old Dominion Freight Line has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Summary

Old Dominion Freight Line beats J.B. Hunt Transport Services on 13 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.