Head to Head Review: U-Haul (NASDAQ:UHAL) and WillScot Mobile Mini (NASDAQ:WSC)

WillScot Mobile Mini (NASDAQ:WSC) and U-Haul (NASDAQ:UHAL) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

WillScot Mobile Mini has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U-Haul has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for WillScot Mobile Mini and U-Haul, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WillScot Mobile Mini	0	2	8	0	2.80
U-Haul	0	0	0	0	N/A

WillScot Mobile Mini presently has a consensus price target of $48.50, suggesting a potential upside of 32.48%. Given WillScot Mobile Mini’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe WillScot Mobile Mini is more favorable than U-Haul.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WillScot Mobile Mini	7.77%	24.27%	5.06%
U-Haul	11.01%	8.77%	3.32%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.8% of WillScot Mobile Mini shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.6% of U-Haul shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of WillScot Mobile Mini shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 50.1% of U-Haul shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares WillScot Mobile Mini and U-Haul’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WillScot Mobile Mini	$2.41 billion	2.89	$476.46 million	$1.62	22.60
U-Haul	$5.63 billion	2.40	$628.71 million	$3.04	22.70

U-Haul has higher revenue and earnings than WillScot Mobile Mini. WillScot Mobile Mini is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than U-Haul, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

WillScot Mobile Mini beats U-Haul on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WillScot Mobile Mini

WillScot Holdings Corporation provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers. The company leases modular space and portable storage units to customers in the construction, commercial and industrial, retail and wholesale trade, energy and natural resources, education, government and institutions, and healthcare markets. The company offers its solutions primarily under the WillScot and Mobile Mini brand names. The company was formerly known as WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. and changed its name to WillScot Holdings Corporation in July 2024. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About U-Haul

U-Haul Holding Company 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 2,300 company operated retail moving stores and 21,000 independent U-Haul dealers. It also has a rental fleet of approximately 188,700 trucks, 139,400 trailers, and 43,700 towing devices; and 1,962 self-storage locations with approximately 1,004,000 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. Its 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. The company was formerly known as AMERCO. The company was founded in 1945 and is based in Reno, Nevada.