Comparing Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) & Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA)

by · The Markets Daily

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIAGet Free Report) and Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLGGet Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Saia and Covenant Logistics Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell RatingsHold RatingsBuy RatingsStrong Buy RatingsRating Score
Saia161302.60
Covenant Logistics Group01423.14

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 clearly believe Covenant Logistics Group is more favorable than Saia.

Volatility & Risk

Saia has a beta of 2.14, suggesting that its stock price is 114% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Covenant Logistics Group has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.7% of Covenant Logistics Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Saia shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 36.7% of Covenant Logistics Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Saia and Covenant Logistics Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Saia$3.23 billion2.93$255.04 million$10.3634.25
Covenant Logistics Group$1.16 billion0.77$7.24 million$0.11320.18

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

Profitability

This table compares Saia and Covenant Logistics Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net MarginsReturn on EquityReturn on Assets
Saia8.19%10.21%7.48%
Covenant Logistics Group0.31%9.14%3.68%

Summary

Saia beats Covenant Logistics Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Saia

(Get Free Report)

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

(Get Free Report)

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.