Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.5714.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WERN. Barclays raised their price target on Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Werner Enterprises from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 22.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,426 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,782 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,408,000 after purchasing an additional 110,468 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 59.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 179,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 66,927 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 49.1% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 704,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,283,000 after buying an additional 232,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 25.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 5,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $33.14 on Monday. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $23.02 and a one year high of $38.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.91 and a 200-day moving average of $28.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.07.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $712.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.63 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 0.85% and a return on equity of 0.14%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is presently 136.59%.

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one‐truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.