Contrasting XPO (NYSE:XPO) & Proficient Auto Logistics (NASDAQ:PAL)

XPO (NYSE:XPO) and Proficient Auto Logistics (NASDAQ:PAL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for XPO and Proficient Auto Logistics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
XPO	1	1	17	0	2.84
Proficient Auto Logistics	0	0	4	0	3.00

XPO presently has a consensus price target of $122.68, suggesting a potential upside of 6.81%. Proficient Auto Logistics has a consensus price target of $19.67, suggesting a potential downside of 2.40%. Given XPO’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe XPO is more favorable than Proficient Auto Logistics.

Profitability

This table compares XPO and Proficient Auto Logistics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
XPO	3.08%	30.77%	5.42%
Proficient Auto Logistics	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares XPO and Proficient Auto Logistics’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
XPO	$7.86 billion	1.70	$189.00 million	$2.04	56.30
Proficient Auto Logistics	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

XPO has higher revenue and earnings than Proficient Auto Logistics.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.7% of XPO shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of XPO shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Proficient Auto Logistics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

XPO beats Proficient Auto Logistics on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About XPO

XPO, Inc. provides freight transportation services in the United States, rest of North America, France, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, North American LTL and European Transportation. The North American LTL segment provides customers with less-than-truckload (LTL) services, such as geographic density and day-definite domestic services. This segment also offers cross-border U.S., Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean, as well as engages in the operation of trailer manufacturing. The European Transportation segment offers dedicated truckload, LTL, truck brokerage, managed transportation, last mile, freight forwarding and multimodal solutions, such as road-rail and road-short sea combinations. It provides its services to customers in various industries, such as industrial and manufacturing, retail and e-commerce, food and beverage, logistics and transportation, and consumer goods. The company was formerly known as XPO Logistics, Inc. and changed its name to XPO, Inc. in December 2022. XPO, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.

About Proficient Auto Logistics

Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. focuses on providing auto transportation and logistics services in North America. It primarily focuses on transporting and delivering finished vehicles from automotive production facilities, ports of entry, and rail yards to a network of automotive dealerships. The company operates approximately 1,130 auto transport vehicles and trailers, including 615 company-owned transport vehicles and trailers. It serves auto companies, electric vehicle producers, auto dealers, auto auctions, rental car companies, and auto leasing companies. The company was formerly known as AH Acquisition Corp. and changed its name to Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. in October 2023. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Jacksonville, Florida.