Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target Raised to $33.00 at UBS Group

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $25.00 to $33.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WERN. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.14.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $34.92 on Tuesday. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $23.02 and a 52-week high of $38.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of -145.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.90.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $737.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 0.04%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 5th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 5th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is -233.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at $34,201,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the second quarter valued at $12,972,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 17.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,893,705 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $79,172,000 after acquiring an additional 424,935 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 180.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 578,761 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,369,000 after purchasing an additional 372,629 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 222.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 339,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,938,000 after purchasing an additional 234,394 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.