Head to Head Analysis: Pamt (NASDAQ:PAMT) & ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB)

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) and Pamt (NASDAQ:PAMT) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares ArcBest and Pamt’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ArcBest	4.16%	11.79%	6.23%
Pamt	-4.45%	-2.58%	-1.07%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for ArcBest and Pamt, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ArcBest	1	7	4	0	2.25
Pamt	0	1	0	0	2.00

ArcBest presently has a consensus price target of $118.91, suggesting a potential upside of 50.96%. Pamt has a consensus price target of $16.50, suggesting a potential upside of 26.83%. Given ArcBest’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ArcBest is more favorable than Pamt.

Volatility & Risk

ArcBest has a beta of 1.51, indicating that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pamt has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ArcBest and Pamt”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ArcBest	$4.18 billion	0.44	$173.96 million	$7.33	10.75
Pamt	$714.65 million	0.40	-$31.80 million	($1.46)	-8.91

ArcBest has higher revenue and earnings than Pamt. Pamt is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ArcBest, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.3% of ArcBest shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.1% of Pamt shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of ArcBest shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 27.2% of Pamt shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

ArcBest beats Pamt on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ArcBest

ArcBest Corporation, an integrated logistics company, engages in the provision of ground, air, and ocean transportation solutions. It operates through two segments: Asset-Based and Asset-Light. The Asset-Based segment provides less-than-truckload (LTL) services, that transports general commodities, such as food, textiles, apparel, furniture, appliances, chemicals, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, plastics, metal and metal products, wood, glass, automotive parts, machinery, and miscellaneous manufactured products. The segment also offers motor carrier freight transportation services to customers in Mexico through arrangements with trucking companies. The Asset-Light segment provides ground expedite services; third-party transportation brokerage services by sourcing various capacity solutions, including dry van over-the-road, temperature-controlled and refrigerated, flatbed, intermodal or container shipping, and specialized equipment; less-than- and full container load ocean transportation services; warehousing and distribution services; managed transportation services; and moving services to do-it-yourself' consumer, as well as provides final mile, time critical, product launch, retail logistics, supply chain optimization, and trade show shipping services. This segment also offers premium logistics services, such as deployment of specialized equipment to meet linehaul requirements; international freight transportation with air, ocean, and ground services; and engages in the final mile, time-critical, product launch, retail logistics, supply chain optimization, brokered LTL, and trade show shipping activities. The company was formerly known as Arkansas Best Corporation and changed its name to ArcBest Corporation in May 2014. ArcBest Corporation was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

About Pamt

PAMT Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of truckload and logistics services through its subsidiaries. Its freight consists primarily of automotive parts, expedited goods, consumer goods, such as general retail store merchandise, and manufactured goods, such as heating and air conditioning units. The company was founded in June 1986 and is headquartered in Tontitown, AR.