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

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.14.

Several brokerages recently commented on WERN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ WERN opened at $36.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.41, a PEG ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $42.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.50.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.06). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.48% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The business had revenue of $745.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 2,390.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. 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.