Contrasting Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) and Central Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:CJPRY)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.3% of Werner Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Central Japan Railway shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Werner Enterprises shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Werner Enterprises has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Japan Railway has a beta of 0.16, suggesting that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Werner Enterprises and Central Japan Railway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Werner Enterprises	-1.42%	1.18%	0.52%
Central Japan Railway	27.29%	10.78%	5.12%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Werner Enterprises and Central Japan Railway”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Werner Enterprises	$2.97 billion	0.78	-$14.40 million	($0.76)	-50.66
Central Japan Railway	$13.33 billion	1.89	$3.65 billion	$1.85	6.78

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Werner Enterprises and Central Japan Railway, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Werner Enterprises	3	8	4	1	2.19
Central Japan Railway	0	0	0	0	0.00

Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus price target of $41.54, suggesting a potential upside of 7.89%. Given Werner Enterprises’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Werner Enterprises is more favorable than Central Japan Railway.

Dividends

Werner Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Central Japan Railway pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Werner Enterprises pays out -73.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Central Japan Railway pays out 3.2% 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

Werner Enterprises beats Central Japan Railway 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 Central Japan Railway

Central Japan Railway Company engages in the railway and related businesses in Japan. The company operates through Transportation, Merchandise and Other, Real Estate, and Other segments. It primarily operates Tokaido Shinkansen, a transportation artery that links metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, as well as a network of 12 conventional lines centered on the Nagoya and Shizuoka areas. The company also provides bus, logistics, travel agency, advertising, linen supply, track maintenance, construction and construction consulting, and contracted accounting and financial services; and manufactures and maintains railway rolling stock and machinery. In addition, it is involved in the operation of a department store; wholesale and retail sales business; sale of food and beverages; leasing and sale of real estate; hotel business; and development, improvement, and maintenance of computer systems. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan.