Reviewing Covenant Logistics Group (NASDAQ:CVLG) and Pamt (NASDAQ:PAMT)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Covenant Logistics Group and Pamt, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Covenant Logistics Group	0	0	2	0	3.00
Pamt	0	1	0	0	2.00

Covenant Logistics Group presently has a consensus target price of $35.25, indicating a potential upside of 55.28%. Pamt has a consensus target price of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 32.42%. Given Covenant Logistics Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Covenant Logistics Group is more favorable than Pamt.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.7% of Covenant Logistics Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.1% of Pamt shares are held by institutional investors. 36.5% of Covenant Logistics Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 27.2% of Pamt shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Covenant Logistics Group and Pamt’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Covenant Logistics Group	3.17%	13.04%	5.56%
Pamt	-4.45%	-2.58%	-1.07%

Risk and Volatility

Covenant Logistics Group has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pamt has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Covenant Logistics Group and Pamt”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Covenant Logistics Group	$1.13 billion	0.53	$35.92 million	$1.29	17.60
Pamt	$714.65 million	0.38	-$31.80 million	($1.46)	-8.53

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

Summary

Covenant Logistics Group beats Pamt on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Covenant Logistics Group

Covenant Logistics Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides transportation and logistics services in the United States. It operates through four segments: Expedited, Dedicated, Managed Freight, and Warehousing. The Expedited segment primarily provides truckload services with high service freight and delivery standards, such as 1,000 miles in 22 hours or 15-minute delivery windows. Its Dedicated segment provides customers with committed truckload capacity over contracted periods with the goal of three to five years in length using equipment either owned or leased by the company. The Managed Freight segment offers brokerage services, including logistics capacity by outsourcing the carriage of customers' freight to third parties; and transport management services, such as logistics services on a contractual basis to customers who prefer to outsource their logistics needs. Its Warehousing segment provides day-to-day warehouse management services to customers, as well as shuttle and switching services related to shuttling containers and trailers. The company also engages in used equipment sales and leasing business. It serves transportation companies, such as parcel freight forwarders, less-than-truckload carriers, and third-party logistics providers; and traditional truckload customers, including manufacturers, retailers, and food and beverage shippers. The company was formerly known as Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. and changed its name to Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. in July 2020. Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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.