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

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.1538.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup raised Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Werner Enterprises news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,945,801.88. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 52.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 573,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,105,000 after acquiring an additional 197,155 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 174,842 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 27,869 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,426 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 13,782 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 49.1% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 704,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,283,000 after purchasing an additional 232,149 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $27.26 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.69. Werner Enterprises has a 12 month low of $23.02 and a 12 month high of $38.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -113.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is -233.33%.

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.