Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives $37.29 Average PT from Brokerages

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities 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 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.29.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WERN. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 2.8 %

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $34.46 on Thursday. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $42.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.49. 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 (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $745.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.48% and a return on equity of 3.58%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.71%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 475 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 2,390.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.