Comparing Firstgroup (OTCMKTS:FGROY) and U-Haul (NASDAQ:UHALB)

U-Haul (NASDAQ:UHALB) and Firstgroup (OTCMKTS:FGROY) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Dividends

U-Haul pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Firstgroup pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. U-Haul pays out 83.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares U-Haul and Firstgroup’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U-Haul	1.38%	1.06%	0.39%
Firstgroup	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for U-Haul and Firstgroup, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U-Haul	0	0	0	0	0.00
Firstgroup	0	0	1	0	3.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

35.7% of U-Haul shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Firstgroup shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares U-Haul and Firstgroup”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U-Haul	$6.04 billion	1.83	$83.13 million	$0.24	260.75
Firstgroup	$6.37 billion	0.20	$158.56 million	N/A	N/A

Firstgroup has higher revenue and earnings than U-Haul.

Volatility and Risk

U-Haul has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Firstgroup has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Firstgroup beats U-Haul on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U-Haul

AMERCO operates as a do-it-yourself moving and storage operator for household and commercial goods in the United States and Canada. The company's Moving and Storage segment rents trucks, trailers, portable moving and storage units, specialty rental items, and self-storage spaces primarily to the household movers; and sells moving supplies, towing accessories, and propane. It also provides uhaul.com, an online marketplace that connects consumers to independent Moving Help service providers and independent self-storage affiliates; auto transport and tow dolly options to transport vehicles; and specialty boxes for dishes, computers, flat screen television, and sensitive electronic equipment, as well as tapes, security locks, and packing supplies. This segment rents its products and services through a network of approximately 2,100 company operated retail moving stores and 21,100 independent U-Haul dealers. As of March 31, 2022, it had a rental fleet of approximately 186,000 trucks, 128,000 trailers, and 46,000 towing devices; and 1,844 self-storage locations with approximately 876,000 rentable storage units. The company's Property and Casualty Insurance segment offers loss adjusting and claims handling services. It also provides moving and storage protection packages, such as Safemove and Safetow packages, which offer moving and towing customers with a damage waiver, cargo protection, and medical and life insurance coverage; Safestor that protects storage customers from loss on their goods in storage; Safestor Mobile, which protects customers stored belongings; and Safemove Plus, which provides rental customers with a layer of primary liability protection. The company's Life Insurance segment provides life and health insurance products primarily to the senior market through the direct writing and reinsuring of life insurance, medicare supplement, and annuity policies. AMERCO was founded in 1945 and is based in Reno, Nevada.

About Firstgroup

FirstGroup plc provides public transport services in the United Kingdom. The company operates through First Bus and First Rail segments. The First Bus segment offers local bus services with a fleet of approximately 4,800 buses in the United Kingdom. The First Rail segment operates a passenger rail network that provides long-distance, commuter, regional, and sleeper services through a portfolio of Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, and Avanti West Coast franchises; and hull trains and Lumos. FirstGroup plc was founded in 1986 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.