Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.71.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WERN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 3.4 %

WERN opened at $28.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $26.50 and a one year high of $42.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.45 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.17.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. Equities research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is 101.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,730,457 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $241,758,000 after acquiring an additional 32,228 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,121,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,211,000 after purchasing an additional 19,370 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,987,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $71,380,000 after buying an additional 234,811 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,660,846 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,010,000 after buying an additional 143,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter worth about $35,257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.