Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Price

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WERN. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna raised Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.29.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $34.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 62.62, a PEG ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.95 and a 200 day moving average of $37.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Werner Enterprises has a 12 month low of $33.12 and a 12 month high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.26%. On average, research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is 101.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the third quarter valued at about $96,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.