Head to Head Review: Pamt (NASDAQ:PAMT) & Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Pamt (NASDAQ:PAMT) and Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Pamt has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Saia has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pamt	$714.65 million	0.41	-$31.80 million	($1.46)	-9.21
Saia	$3.21 billion	3.17	$362.07 million	$13.51	28.32

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

Profitability

This table compares Pamt and Saia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pamt	-4.45%	-2.58%	-1.07%
Saia	11.28%	16.63%	12.10%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

22.1% of Pamt shares are held by institutional investors. 27.2% of Pamt shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Saia shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Pamt and Saia, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pamt	0	1	0	0	2.00
Saia	0	6	12	0	2.67

Pamt presently has a consensus target price of $16.50, suggesting a potential upside of 22.77%. Saia has a consensus target price of $527.65, suggesting a potential upside of 37.91%. Given Saia’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Saia is more favorable than Pamt.

Summary

Saia beats Pamt on 12 of the 14 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 Saia

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.