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

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities 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 analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.57.

WERN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “negative” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $39.93 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 33.80 and a beta of 0.80. Werner Enterprises has a twelve month low of $33.12 and a twelve month high of $43.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.23.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 1.48%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. Analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors 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 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 2.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 31,599 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 4.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,913 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 62.5% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 29,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 11,305 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 43,185 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.