Aurizon (OTCMKTS:QRNNF) & East Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:EJPRY) Financial Comparison

Aurizon (OTCMKTS:QRNNF) and East Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:EJPRY) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Aurizon and East Japan Railway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aurizon	N/A	N/A	N/A
East Japan Railway	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Aurizon and East Japan Railway”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aurizon	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.12	23.39
East Japan Railway	N/A	N/A	N/A	$84.74	0.14

East Japan Railway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aurizon, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Aurizon pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. East Japan Railway pays an annual dividend of $0.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Aurizon pays out 54.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. East Japan Railway pays out 0.2% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Aurizon and East Japan Railway, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aurizon	0	1	0	0	2.00
East Japan Railway	0	1	0	1	3.00

Aurizon currently has a consensus price target of $3.80, indicating a potential upside of 37.68%. Given Aurizon’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Aurizon is more favorable than East Japan Railway.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

13.3% of Aurizon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of East Japan Railway shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Aurizon

Aurizon Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a rail freight operator in Australia. The company operates through Network, Coal, Bulk, and Other segments. It transports various commodities, including mining, agricultural, industrial, and retail products; and retail goods and groceries across small and big towns, and cities, as well as coal and iron ore. The company also operates and manages the Central Queensland Coal Network that consists of 2,670 kilometers of track network; and provides various specialist services, such as rail design, engineering, construction, management, and maintenance, as well as supply chain solutions. It serves miners, primary producers, and the industry. The company was formerly known as QR National Limited and changed its name to Aurizon Holdings Limited in December 2012. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Fortitude Valley, Australia.

About East Japan Railway

East Japan Railway Company operates as a passenger railway company in Japan and internationally. The company operates through Transportation, Retail & Services, Real Estate & Hotels, and Others segments. It offers passenger railway, freight, bus transportation, travel agency, warehousing, financial, telecommunication, computer-related data, and dry cleaning, casualty insurance, and other agency services. The company is also involved in the operation of aerial cableway and parking lot; advertising and promotion; books and magazines publication; automobile maintenance and repair; hotel and restaurant management; civil engineering and general construction; facilities construction; and electricity supply businesses. In addition, it engages in the sale of prepaid vouchers, memberships for sport and leisure facilities, including golf and tennis clubs; and oil, gas, and car accessories; travel goods, food, beverages, liquors, medicines, cosmetics, and daily necessities. Further, the company is involved in the sale, leasing, management, and brokerage of real estate properties; manufacture of transport-related machinery and equipment, as well as precision and industrial machinery and tools; production and sale of signs and information boards; and establishment and management of recreation areas, physical fitness facilities, cultural facilities, preparatory schools and other educational facilities, and movie theaters. Additionally, it engages in the production of beverages and liquors; processing and sale of marine products; manufacture and sale of aggregates, masonry materials, concrete posts, and blocks; sale of tickets for events; and photo development activities. As of April 1, 2023, the company operated 1,681 railway stations and 7,401.2 kilometers of railway network. East Japan Railway Company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.