Head to Head Comparison: Hertz Global (NYSE:HTZ) and GATX (NYSE:GATX)

Hertz Global (NYSE:HTZ) and GATX (NYSE:GATX) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.2% of Hertz Global shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.1% of GATX shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Hertz Global shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of GATX 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.

Volatility & Risk

Hertz Global has a beta of 1.99, suggesting that its stock price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GATX has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Hertz Global and GATX’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hertz Global	N/A	N/A	N/A
GATX	18.37%	11.81%	2.42%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hertz Global and GATX’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hertz Global	$9.37 billion	0.20	$253.65 million	$0.83	7.22
GATX	$1.41 billion	3.23	$259.20 million	$7.15	17.91

GATX has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Hertz Global. Hertz Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than GATX, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Hertz Global and GATX, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hertz Global	0	0	0	0	N/A
GATX	0	2	1	0	2.33

GATX has a consensus price target of $134.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5.05%. Given GATX’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe GATX is more favorable than Hertz Global.

Summary

GATX beats Hertz Global on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hertz Global

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. operates as a vehicle rental company. The company operates through two segments, Americas Rental Car and International Rental Car. It offers vehicle rental services under the Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty brands from company-operated, licensee, and franchisee locations in the United States, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and New Zealand. The company sells vehicles and value-added services. Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Estero, Florida.

About GATX

GATX Corporation, together its subsidiaries, operates as railcar leasing company in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and India. It operates through three segments: Rail North America, Rail International, and Portfolio Management. The company leases tank and freight railcars, and locomotives for petroleum, chemical, food/agriculture, and transportation industries. It also offers maintenance services, including the interior cleaning of railcars, routine maintenance and repair of car body and safety appliances, regulatory compliance works, wheelset replacements, interior blast and lining, exterior blast and painting, and car stenciling services. In addition, the company manufactures commercial aircraft jet engines and leases aircraft spare engines; and owns and manages tank containers that are leased to chemical, industrial gas, energy, food, cryogenic and pharmaceutical industries, and tank container operators, as well as provides tank container sourcing, remarketing, and inspection and maintenance services. As of December 31, 2023, it owned and operated a fleet of approximately 148,500 railcars; 493 four-axle and 30 six-axle locomotives; 399 aircraft spare engines; and 23,931 tank containers. GATX Corporation was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.