Head-To-Head Contrast: ETS (NASDAQ:ETS) and Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) and ETS (NASDAQ:ETS) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Forward Air has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ETS has a beta of -5.18, suggesting that its stock price is 618% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.0% of Forward Air shares are held by institutional investors. 15.7% of Forward Air shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.9% of ETS shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Forward Air and ETS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Forward Air	-11.37%	-19.49%	-0.66%
ETS	-157.04%	-30.26%	-29.59%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Forward Air and ETS, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Forward Air	1	1	3	0	2.40
ETS	1	0	0	0	1.00

Forward Air currently has a consensus price target of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 70.38%. Given Forward Air’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Forward Air is more favorable than ETS.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Forward Air and ETS”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Forward Air	$2.50 billion	0.19	-$107.80 million	($8.90)	-1.71
ETS	$2.67 million	10.14	-$2.19 million	($0.16)	-10.12

ETS has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Forward Air. ETS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Forward Air, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Forward Air beats ETS on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset-light freight and logistics company in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Expedited Freight and Intermodal. The Expedited Freight segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services; local pick-up and delivery services; and other services, which include shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling. This segment offers expedited truckload brokerage, dedicated fleet, and high security and temperature-controlled logistics services. The Intermodal segment provides intermodal container drayage services; and contract and container freight station warehouse and handling services. It serves freight forwarders, third-party logistics companies, integrated air cargo carriers and passenger, passenger and cargo airlines, steamship lines, and retailers. Forward Air Corporation was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee.

About ETS

Elite Express Holding Inc. is a holding company which conducts its operations through its wholly owned subsidiary, JAR Transportation Inc. It provides last-mile delivery services, primarily focused on transporting packages from distribution centers to end customers. Elite Express Holding Inc. is based in LAGUNA HILLS, Calif.