Pamt (NASDAQ:PAMT – Get Free Report) and Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD – Get Free Report) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Pamt and Heartland Express, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Pamt | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Heartland Express | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.33 |
Pamt currently has a consensus price target of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 35.36%. Heartland Express has a consensus price target of $10.33, indicating a potential upside of 12.93%. Given Pamt’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Pamt is more favorable than Heartland Express.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Pamt | $714.65 million | 0.37 | -$31.80 million | ($1.46) | -8.35 |
| Heartland Express | $1.05 billion | 0.69 | -$29.72 million | ($0.37) | -24.73 |
Heartland Express has higher revenue and earnings than Pamt. Heartland Express is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pamt, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
22.1% of Pamt shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.5% of Heartland Express shares are held by institutional investors. 74.2% of Pamt shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 39.6% of Heartland Express shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Pamt and Heartland Express’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Pamt | -4.45% | -2.58% | -1.07% |
| Heartland Express | -2.84% | -3.57% | -2.14% |
Risk and Volatility
Pamt has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Heartland Express has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Pamt beats Heartland Express on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Pamt
PAMT Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of truckload and logistics services through its subsidiaries. Its freight consists primarily of automotive parts, expedited goods, consumer goods, such as general retail store merchandise, and manufactured goods, such as heating and air conditioning units. The company was founded in June 1986 and is headquartered in Tontitown, AR.
About Heartland Express
Heartland Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services. The company offers its services under the Heartland Express and Millis Transfer brand names. It primarily serves retailers and manufacturers in consumer goods, appliances, food products, and automotive industries. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa.
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