Comparing Central Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:CJPRY) & TFI International (NYSE:TFII)

TFI International (NYSE:TFII) and Central Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:CJPRY) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

73.3% of TFI International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Central Japan Railway shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of TFI International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

TFI International pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Central Japan Railway pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. TFI International pays out 46.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Central Japan Railway pays out 3.2% 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.

Volatility & Risk

TFI International has a beta of 1.62, indicating that its share price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Japan Railway has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its share price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares TFI International and Central Japan Railway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TFI International	4.14%	14.87%	5.38%
Central Japan Railway	27.29%	10.75%	5.08%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for TFI International and Central Japan Railway, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TFI International	0	4	14	1	2.84
Central Japan Railway	0	0	0	0	0.00

TFI International presently has a consensus target price of $175.76, suggesting a potential upside of 29.49%. Given TFI International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe TFI International is more favorable than Central Japan Railway.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares TFI International and Central Japan Railway”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TFI International	$7.88 billion	1.41	$310.55 million	$4.07	33.35
Central Japan Railway	$13.33 billion	1.85	$3.65 billion	$1.85	6.66

Central Japan Railway has higher revenue and earnings than TFI International. Central Japan Railway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TFI International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

TFI International beats Central Japan Railway on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TFI International

TFI International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides transportation and logistics services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Package and Courier, Less-Than-Truckload (LTL), Truckload (TL), and Logistics segments. The Package and Courier segment engages in the pickup, transport, and delivery of items in North America. The LTL segment is involved in the pickup, consolidation, transportation, and delivery of smaller loads. The TL segment offers expedited transportation, flatbed, tank, container, and dedicated services. This segment also carries full loads directly from the customer to the destination using a closed van or specialized equipment. The Logistics segment provides asset-light logistics services, including brokerage, freight forwarding, and transportation management, as well as small package parcel delivery. As of December 31, 2023, it operates 11,455 trucks, 34,599 trailers, and 7,504 independent contractors. The company was formerly known as TransForce Inc. and changed its name to TFI International Inc. in December 2016. TFI International Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.

About Central Japan Railway

Central Japan Railway Company engages in the railway and related businesses in Japan. The company operates through Transportation, Merchandise and Other, Real Estate, and Other segments. It primarily operates Tokaido Shinkansen, a transportation artery that links metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, as well as a network of 12 conventional lines centered on the Nagoya and Shizuoka areas. The company also provides bus, logistics, travel agency, advertising, linen supply, track maintenance, construction and construction consulting, and contracted accounting and financial services; and manufactures and maintains railway rolling stock and machinery. In addition, it is involved in the operation of a department store; wholesale and retail sales business; sale of food and beverages; leasing and sale of real estate; hotel business; and development, improvement, and maintenance of computer systems. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan.