Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives $37.57 Average Target Price from Analysts

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.36.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “negative” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 34.2% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 271.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 3,489 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 369,658 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,265,000 after acquiring an additional 33,891 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,434 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 460,453 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,509,000 after acquiring an additional 9,143 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $37.54 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.76. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 51.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $43.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.06). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.48% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.71%.

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.