Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $40.55 and last traded at $40.40, with a volume of 561521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $35.15.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -271.60, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.80 and a 200 day moving average of $31.57.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 0.28%.The business had revenue of $730.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $812.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. Werner Enterprises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -373.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,514,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $195,491,000 after purchasing an additional 90,480 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 4.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,794,752 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,601,000 after acquiring an additional 148,826 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 5.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,058,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $80,511,000 after acquiring an additional 165,233 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 11.1% during the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,055,017 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $89,848,000 after acquiring an additional 304,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 605.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,510,354 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $75,336,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154,428 shares during the last quarter. 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.