Analyzing Kuehne & Nagel International (OTCMKTS:KHNGY) & ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO)

Kuehne & Nagel International (OTCMKTS:KHNGY) and ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.7% of ZTO Express (Cayman) shares are held by institutional investors. 41.3% of ZTO Express (Cayman) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Kuehne & Nagel International and ZTO Express (Cayman)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kuehne & Nagel International	3.52%	40.73%	7.20%
ZTO Express (Cayman)	18.50%	14.05%	9.90%

Risk and Volatility

Kuehne & Nagel International has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZTO Express (Cayman) has a beta of -0.18, indicating that its stock price is 118% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Kuehne & Nagel International and ZTO Express (Cayman), as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kuehne & Nagel International	2	3	1	0	1.83
ZTO Express (Cayman)	0	1	3	2	3.17

ZTO Express (Cayman) has a consensus target price of $24.45, suggesting a potential downside of 2.69%. Given ZTO Express (Cayman)’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ZTO Express (Cayman) is more favorable than Kuehne & Nagel International.

Dividends

Kuehne & Nagel International pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. ZTO Express (Cayman) pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Kuehne & Nagel International pays out 70.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ZTO Express (Cayman) pays out 48.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. ZTO Express (Cayman) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kuehne & Nagel International and ZTO Express (Cayman)”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kuehne & Nagel International	$29.53 billion	0.97	$1.06 billion	$1.76	26.84
ZTO Express (Cayman)	$7.02 billion	2.02	$1.30 billion	$1.58	15.90

ZTO Express (Cayman) has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Kuehne & Nagel International. ZTO Express (Cayman) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kuehne & Nagel International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

ZTO Express (Cayman) beats Kuehne & Nagel International on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kuehne & Nagel International

Kuehne + Nagel International AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated logistics services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Sea Logistics, Air Logistics, Road Logistics, and Contract Logistics. It offers less-than-container load, reefer and project logistics, and flexible container shipping solutions. The company also provides time-critical solutions, sea-air and time-defined products, airside and air charter services, cargo insurance, and customs clearance services. In addition, it offers spare parts logistics, production, and e-commerce logistics, distribution, packaging, and process solutions. Further, the company provides supply chain consulting and order management services. It serves aerospace, automotive, mobility, consumer, healthcare, high-tech and semicon, industrial, and perishables industries. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Schindellegi, Switzerland. Kuehne + Nagel International AG is a subsidiary of Kuehne Holding AG.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.