Brokerages Set Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Target Price at $36.57

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six 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 target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.57.

Several brokerages recently commented on WERN. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “negative” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 209.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,158 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $38.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.53. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $33.12 and a 52 week high of $43.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 52.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $38.90 and its 200-day moving average is $37.54.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its 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 return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 1.48%. The company had revenue of $745.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.71%.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.