Head to Head Comparison: Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) versus CSX (NASDAQ:CSX)

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) and Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

CSX has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marten Transport has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CSX and Marten Transport”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CSX	$14.09 billion	6.21	$2.89 billion	$1.73	27.32
Marten Transport	$857.65 million	1.21	$17.44 million	$0.17	75.00

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

73.6% of CSX shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of Marten Transport shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of CSX shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.6% of Marten Transport shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares CSX and Marten Transport’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CSX	22.21%	24.98%	7.61%
Marten Transport	1.47%	1.65%	1.32%

Dividends

CSX pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Marten Transport pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. CSX pays out 32.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Marten Transport pays out 141.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. CSX has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for CSX and Marten Transport, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CSX	1	7	18	0	2.65
Marten Transport	0	3	0	1	2.50

CSX currently has a consensus price target of $51.06, suggesting a potential upside of 8.03%. Marten Transport has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.49%. Given Marten Transport’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Marten Transport is more favorable than CSX.

Summary

CSX beats Marten Transport on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CSX

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities. In addition, the company provides intermodal services through a network of approximately 30 terminals transporting manufactured consumer goods in containers; and drayage services, including the pickup and delivery of intermodal shipments. It serves the automotive industry with distribution centers and storage locations, as well as connects non-rail served customers through transferring products, such as plastics and ethanol from rail to trucks. The company operates approximately 20,000 route mile rail network, which serves various population centers in 26 states east of the Mississippi River, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as well as owns and leases approximately 3,500 locomotives. It serves production and distribution facilities through track connections. CSX Corporation was incorporated in 1978 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

About Marten Transport

Marten Transport, Ltd. operates as a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier for shippers in the United State, Mexico, and Canada. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Dedicated, Intermodal, and Brokerage. The Truckload segment transports food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment, as well as dry freight; and regional short-haul and medium-to-long-haul full-load transportation services. The Dedicated segment offers customized transportation solutions for individual customers' requirements using temperature-controlled trailers, dry vans, and other specialized equipment. The Intermodal segment transports customers' freight utilizing its refrigerated containers and temperature-controlled trailers on railroad flatcars for portions of trips, as well as using tractors and contracted carriers. The Brokerage segment develops contractual relationships with and arranges for third-party carriers to transport freight for customers in temperature-controlled trailers and dry vans. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a fleet of 3,349 tractors, that included 3,255 company-owned tractors and 94 tractors supplied by independent contractors. Marten Transport, Ltd. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin.