ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) vs. Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) Critical Contrast

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) and ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Hub Group and ZTO Express (Cayman), as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hub Group	2	7	6	0	2.27
ZTO Express (Cayman)	0	4	1	1	2.50

Hub Group presently has a consensus price target of $40.73, indicating a potential upside of 68.16%. ZTO Express (Cayman) has a consensus price target of $24.70, indicating a potential upside of 18.84%. Given Hub Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hub Group is more favorable than ZTO Express (Cayman).

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hub Group and ZTO Express (Cayman)”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hub Group	$3.95 billion	0.38	$103.99 million	$1.73	14.00
ZTO Express (Cayman)	$54.21 billion	0.21	$1.30 billion	$1.86	11.17

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

Volatility & Risk

Hub Group has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZTO Express (Cayman) has a beta of -0.18, meaning that its share price is 118% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Hub Group pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. ZTO Express (Cayman) pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Hub Group pays out 28.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ZTO Express (Cayman) pays out 40.9% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.8% of Hub Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.7% of ZTO Express (Cayman) shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of Hub Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 41.3% of ZTO Express (Cayman) 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.

Profitability

This table compares Hub Group and ZTO Express (Cayman)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hub Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
ZTO Express (Cayman)	19.03%	15.90%	10.89%

Summary

ZTO Express (Cayman) beats Hub Group on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.