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

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.57.

WERN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 12.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 435,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,804,000 after buying an additional 49,568 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the third quarter worth about $722,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,408,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 30,819 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 98,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,803,000 after purchasing an additional 16,280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $39.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $38.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.70, a PEG ratio of 33.21 and a beta of 0.80. 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 one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $43.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 1.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is 76.71%.

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.