Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) and J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) are both transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.
Dividends
Werner Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Werner Enterprises pays out 18.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays out 25.3% 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. Werner Enterprises has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and J.B. Hunt Transport Services has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Werner Enterprises is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Werner Enterprises and J.B. Hunt Transport Services' gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Werner Enterprises | $2.37 billion | 1.30 | $169.08 million | $2.59 | 17.46 |
| J.B. Hunt Transport Services | $9.64 billion | 1.85 | $506.04 million | $4.74 | 35.64 |
J.B. Hunt Transport Services has higher revenue and earnings than Werner Enterprises. Werner Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than J.B. Hunt Transport Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
80.6% of Werner Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.4% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Werner Enterprises shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Werner Enterprises and J.B. Hunt Transport Services' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Werner Enterprises | 9.10% | 17.53% | 9.64% |
| J.B. Hunt Transport Services | 5.57% | 22.56% | 9.89% |
Risk & Volatility
Werner Enterprises has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Werner Enterprises and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Werner Enterprises | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2.29 |
| J.B. Hunt Transport Services | 0 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 2.55 |
Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus target price of $50.4615, indicating a potential upside of 11.76%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus target price of $171.8235, indicating a potential upside of 1.39%. Given Werner Enterprises' higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Werner Enterprises is more favorable than J.B. Hunt Transport Services.
Summary
J.B. Hunt Transport Services beats Werner Enterprises on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
