Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.57.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN stock opened at $39.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.75, a PEG ratio of 33.53 and a beta of 0.80. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $43.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.87 and its 200 day moving average is $37.17.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.48% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company’s revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is 76.71%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 390.1% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 740 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 145.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.