Heartland Express (HTLD) vs Werner Enterprises (WERN)
Head-to-head comparison of performance, valuation, growth, profitability and dividends. Prices delayed 15 minutes; data as of Oct 8, 2026.
Summary
Heartland Express (HTLD) has outperformed Werner Enterprises (WERN) over the past year, gaining 34.1% versus a gain of 16.5%. Over five years, WERN leads with a -26.7% price change compared with -31.9% for HTLD. Werner Enterprises is the larger company by market cap ($1.94 billion vs $872.3 million), about 2.2 times the size.
On valuation, Werner Enterprises trades at a lower forward P/E (14.7x vs 22.5x for Heartland Express). Werner Enterprises offers the higher dividend yield (1.73% vs 0.71%).
Summary generated from market data by MetaCap's automated system. Methodology
Relative performance
Percent change in share price from the first common trading day shown; excludes dividends.
Head-to-head
| Metric | HTLD | WERN |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | $11.28 | $32.34 |
| Market cap | $872.31M | $1.94B |
| 1-day change | -0.44% | -1.43% |
| YTD return | +24.92% | +7.76% |
| 1-year return | +34.13% | +16.50% |
| 5-year return | -31.93% | -26.68% |
| Forward P/E | 22.47 | 14.66 |
| EPS (TTM) | $-0.29 | $-0.77 |
| Dividend yield | 0.71% | 1.73% |
| Annual dividend | $0.08 | $0.56 |
| 52-week high | $16.64 | $47.49 |
| 52-week low | $7.00 | $23.06 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -32.21% | -31.90% |
| Analyst consensus | hold | hold |
| Avg. price target upside | +17.02% | +29.65% |
| Average volume | 725.23K | 1.03M |
| Shares outstanding | 77.33M | 59.98M |
| Employees | 3,630 | 14,500 |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Trucking | Trucking Freight/Courier Services |
Highlighted cells mark the higher value for growth, returns, margins and yield, and the lower value for P/E ratios. Highlighting is a mechanical comparison, not a recommendation.
Key differences
- Werner Enterprises is about 2.2 times larger than Heartland Express by market value ($1.94B vs $872.31M).
- HTLD has outperformed WERN by 17.6 percentage points over the past year.
- Werner Enterprises offers a meaningfully higher dividend yield (1.73% vs 0.71%).
About Heartland Express
HTLD stock →Heartland Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides short, medium, and long-haul truckload carrier and transportation services in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload services for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.
Industrials · Trucking · 3,630 employees
About Werner Enterprises
WERN stock →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, Canada, and internationally. The company operates a fleet of medium-to-long-haul vans that transport various consumer nondurable products and other commodities in truckload quantities using dry van trailers; the expedited fleet, which provides time-sensitive truckload services using driver teams; a regional short-haul fleet for truckload van service; and temperature-controlled fleet, which offers truckload services for temperature-sensitive products using temperature-controlled trailers to retail distribution center or manufacturing facility, utilizing either dry van or specialized trailers.
Industrials · Trucking Freight/Courier Services · 14,500 employees
HTLD vs WERN FAQ
Which is bigger, Heartland Express or Werner Enterprises?
Werner Enterprises (WERN) is larger, with a market capitalization of $1.94B compared with $872.31M for Heartland Express (HTLD).
Which stock has performed better over the past year, HTLD or WERN?
HTLD returned +34.13% over the past 12 months, compared with +16.50% for WERN (price return, excluding dividends). Past performance does not predict future results.
Which pays a higher dividend, Heartland Express or Werner Enterprises?
Werner Enterprises has the higher yield at 1.73%, compared with 0.71% for Heartland Express.
Are Heartland Express and Werner Enterprises in the same industry?
Both are in the Industrials sector, but in different industries: Trucking for Heartland Express and Trucking Freight/Courier Services for Werner Enterprises.