Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Given New $38.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target boosted by Susquehanna from $31.00 to $38.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the transportation company’s stock.

WERN has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.85.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 0.8%

WERN opened at $33.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.09. Werner Enterprises has a 12 month low of $23.02 and a 12 month high of $38.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.31 and a 200 day moving average of $30.18.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.51 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The company’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is currently -233.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Werner Enterprises

In other news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of Werner Enterprises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $49,318.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,945,801.88. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 289.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 42.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.