Critical Analysis: Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) vs. Kuehne & Nagel International (OTCMKTS:KHNGY)

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) and Kuehne & Nagel International (OTCMKTS:KHNGY) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Werner Enterprises and Kuehne & Nagel International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Werner Enterprises	4	8	4	0	2.00
Kuehne & Nagel International	2	2	2	1	2.29

Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus price target of $37.14, indicating a potential upside of 34.04%. Given Werner Enterprises’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Werner Enterprises is more favorable than Kuehne & Nagel International.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Werner Enterprises and Kuehne & Nagel International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Werner Enterprises	$2.97 billion	0.56	-$14.40 million	($0.31)	-89.39
Kuehne & Nagel International	$29.53 billion	1.18	$1.06 billion	$2.22	25.92

Kuehne & Nagel International has higher revenue and earnings than Werner Enterprises. Werner Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kuehne & Nagel International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Werner Enterprises and Kuehne & Nagel International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Werner Enterprises	-0.56%	2.03%	0.88%
Kuehne & Nagel International	3.82%	43.31%	8.15%

Volatility & Risk

Werner Enterprises has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kuehne & Nagel International has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.3% of Werner Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Werner Enterprises shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Werner Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Kuehne & Nagel International pays an annual dividend of $0.93 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Werner Enterprises pays out -180.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kuehne & Nagel International pays out 41.9% 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 raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Werner Enterprises is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Kuehne & Nagel International beats Werner Enterprises on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in transporting truckload shipments of general commodities in interstate and intrastate commerce in the United States, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Truckload Transportation Services and Werner Logistics. The Truckload Transportation Services segment operates a fleet of medium-to-long-haul vans that transports various consumer nondurable products and other commodities in truckload quantities using dry van trailers; the expedited fleet, which offers time-sensitive truckload services using driver teams; a regional short-haul fleet that provides truckload van service in the United States; and temperature-controlled fleet, which offers truckload services for temperature-sensitive products using temperature-controlled trailers. This segment provides truckload services to retail distribution centers or manufacturing facilities using dry vans or trailers to transport retail store merchandise, consumer products, food and beverage products, and manufactured products. As of December 31, 2023, it had a fleet of 8,000 trucks, which included 7,740 company-operated, as well as 260 owned and operated by independent contractors; and 30,810 trailers that comprised dry vans, flatbeds, temperature-controlled, and other trailers. The Werner Logistics segment provides non-asset-based transportation and logistics services, including truck brokerage; logistics management services and solutions; rail transportation through alliances with rail and drayage providers; and residential and commercial deliveries of large or heavy items using liftgate straight trucks. As of December 31, 2023, this segment operated 35 drayage tractors and 115 delivery trucks. It also sells used trucks and trailers; and trades used trucks to original equipment manufacturers. The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

About Kuehne & Nagel International

Kuehne + Nagel International AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated logistics services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Sea Logistics, Air Logistics, Road Logistics, and Contract Logistics. It offers less-than-container load, reefer and project logistics, and flexible container shipping solutions. The company also provides time-critical solutions, sea-air and time-defined products, airside and air charter services, cargo insurance, and customs clearance services. In addition, it offers spare parts logistics, production, and e-commerce logistics, distribution, packaging, and process solutions. Further, the company provides supply chain consulting and order management services. It serves aerospace, automotive, mobility, consumer, healthcare, high-tech and semicon, industrial, and perishables industries. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Schindellegi, Switzerland. Kuehne + Nagel International AG is a subsidiary of Kuehne Holding AG.