Analyzing Firstgroup (OTCMKTS:FGROY) and TFI International (NYSE:TFII)

TFI International (NYSE:TFII) and Firstgroup (OTCMKTS:FGROY) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for TFI International and Firstgroup, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TFI International	2	7	11	2	2.59
Firstgroup	0	0	0	0	0.00

TFI International presently has a consensus price target of $111.27, indicating a potential upside of 29.81%. Given TFI International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe TFI International is more favorable than Firstgroup.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares TFI International and Firstgroup”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TFI International	$8.40 billion	0.84	$422.48 million	$3.88	22.09
Firstgroup	$6.46 billion	0.23	$162.68 million	N/A	N/A

TFI International has higher revenue and earnings than Firstgroup.

Volatility and Risk

TFI International has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Firstgroup has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

TFI International pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Firstgroup pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. TFI International pays out 46.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.3% of TFI International shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of TFI International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Firstgroup shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TFI International	4.06%	14.20%	5.28%
Firstgroup	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

TFI International beats Firstgroup on 13 of the 15 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 Firstgroup

FirstGroup plc provides public transport services in the United Kingdom. The company operates through First Bus and First Rail segments. The First Bus segment offers local bus services with a fleet of approximately 4,800 buses in the United Kingdom. The First Rail segment operates a passenger rail network that provides long-distance, commuter, regional, and sleeper services through a portfolio of Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, and Avanti West Coast franchises; and hull trains and Lumos. FirstGroup plc was founded in 1986 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.