Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) versus Royal Mail (OTCMKTS:ROYMY) Head-To-Head Analysis

Royal Mail (OTCMKTS:ROYMY) and Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Royal Mail and Old Dominion Freight Line’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Royal Mail	N/A	N/A	N/A
Old Dominion Freight Line	19.44%	24.87%	19.47%

Volatility and Risk

Royal Mail has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Old Dominion Freight Line has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.8% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Royal Mail pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Old Dominion Freight Line pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Old Dominion Freight Line pays out 22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Dominion Freight Line has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Old Dominion Freight Line is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Royal Mail and Old Dominion Freight Line, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Royal Mail	0	0	0	0	0.00
Old Dominion Freight Line	2	13	9	1	2.36

Old Dominion Freight Line has a consensus target price of $226.55, suggesting a potential upside of 20.01%. Given Old Dominion Freight Line’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Old Dominion Freight Line is more favorable than Royal Mail.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Royal Mail and Old Dominion Freight Line”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Royal Mail	$15.94 billion	0.25	$67.88 million	N/A	N/A
Old Dominion Freight Line	$5.50 billion	7.12	$1.02 billion	$5.19	36.37

Old Dominion Freight Line has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Royal Mail.

Summary

Old Dominion Freight Line beats Royal Mail on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Royal Mail

International Distributions Services plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a universal postal service provider in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company offers parcels and letter delivery services under the Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide brands. It also provides services for the collection, sorting, and delivery of parcels and letters. In addition, the company operates ground-based parcel delivery networks in Europe that covers 40 countries and nation states. Further, it provides express parcel delivery and logistics services. Additionally, the company engages in property holdings and facilities management activities. It serves consumers, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The company was formerly known as Royal Mail plc and changed its name to International Distributions Services plc in October 2022. International Distributions Services plc was founded in 1516 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

About Old Dominion Freight Line

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. operates as a less-than-truckload motor carrier in the United States and North America. The company offers regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services, as well as expedited transportation. It also provides various value-added services, including container drayage, truckload brokerage, and supply chain consulting. As of December 31, 2023, it owned and operated 10,791 tractors, 31,233 linehaul trailers, and 15,181 pickup and delivery trailers; 46 fleet maintenance centers; and 257 service centers. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Thomasville, North Carolina.