Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Given New $23.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WERN. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Werner Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.93.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ WERN opened at $27.45 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. Werner Enterprises has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.92% and a net margin of 1.77%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 5,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.12%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,067 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,026,000 after acquiring an additional 8,080 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 164.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 6,879 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $686,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $265,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.