Head to Head Comparison: Air Lease (NYSE:AL) versus Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX)

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) and Air Lease (NYSE:AL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Greenbrier Companies and Air Lease”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greenbrier Companies	$3.54 billion	0.40	$160.10 million	$7.06	6.51
Air Lease	$2.73 billion	2.60	$427.70 million	$8.24	7.72

Air Lease has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Greenbrier Companies. Greenbrier Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Air Lease, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Greenbrier Companies has a beta of 1.72, suggesting that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air Lease has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Greenbrier Companies and Air Lease, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greenbrier Companies	1	0	1	0	2.00
Air Lease	1	3	4	0	2.38

Greenbrier Companies presently has a consensus target price of $59.50, indicating a potential upside of 29.41%. Air Lease has a consensus target price of $60.29, indicating a potential downside of 5.18%. Given Greenbrier Companies’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Greenbrier Companies is more favorable than Air Lease.

Profitability

This table compares Greenbrier Companies and Air Lease’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greenbrier Companies	6.48%	14.56%	5.43%
Air Lease	34.04%	7.99%	1.92%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.6% of Greenbrier Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of Air Lease shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Greenbrier Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Air Lease shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Greenbrier Companies pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Air Lease pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Greenbrier Companies pays out 18.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Air Lease pays out 10.7% 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. Greenbrier Companies has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Air Lease has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Summary

Air Lease beats Greenbrier Companies on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Greenbrier Companies

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets railroad freight car equipment in North America, Europe, and South America. It operates through three segments: Manufacturing; Maintenance Services; and Leasing & Management Services. The Manufacturing segment offers covered hopper cars, gondolas, open top hoppers, boxcars, center partition cars, tank cars, sustainable conversions, double-stack railcars, auto-max ii, multi-max, and multi-max plus products, intermodal cars, automobile transport, coil steel and metals, flat cars, sliding wall cars, pressurized tank cars, and non-pressurized tank cars. The Maintenance Services segment provides wheel services, including reconditioning of wheels and axles, new axle machining and finishing, and downsizing; operates a railcar repair, refurbishment, and maintenance network; and reconditions and manufactures railcar cushioning units, couplers, yokes, side frames, bolsters, and various other parts. The Leasing & Management Services segment offers operating leases and per diem leases for a fleet of approximately 13,400 railcars; and management services comprising railcar maintenance management, railcar accounting services, fleet management and logistics, administration, and railcar re-marketing. This segment provides management services for railroads, shippers, carriers, institutional investors, and other leasing and transportation companies. It serves railroads, leasing companies, financial institutions, shippers, carriers, and transportation companies. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

About Air Lease

Air Lease Corporation, an aircraft leasing company, engages in the purchase and leasing of commercial jet aircraft to airlines worldwide. It sells aircraft from its fleet to third parties, including other leasing companies, financial services companies, airlines, and other investors. The company provides fleet management services to investors and owners of aircraft portfolios. As of December 31, 2023, it owned a fleet of 463 aircraft, including 345 narrowbody aircraft and 118 widebody aircraft. Air Lease Corporation was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.