Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

WERN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.29.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ WERN opened at $34.07 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.02 and its 200-day moving average is $37.30. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $33.12 and a 1 year high of $42.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 61.95 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. Equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 126,453 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,542,000 after acquiring an additional 16,366 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 70.5% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 55,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 23,120 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 224,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,071,000 after acquiring an additional 96,500 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 379,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,639,000 after acquiring an additional 105,092 shares during the period. Finally, Shay Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. Institutional investors 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.