Brokerages Set Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target at $37.29

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.29.

A number of research firms have issued reports on WERN. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Susquehanna upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of WERN opened at $34.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.49. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $42.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a P/E/G ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 0.84.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.06). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.48% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $765.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,879 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 163.0% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 5,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,506,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,984,000 after buying an additional 201,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,167,616 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,496,000 after purchasing an additional 219,074 shares during the last quarter. 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.