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

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.9167.

WERN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Werner Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Werner Enterprises from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,464 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,717,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.8% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 64,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 57,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of WERN opened at $39.88 on Thursday. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $45.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -265.87, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.69.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 0.28%.The firm had revenue of $730.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently -373.33%.

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one‐truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.