Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.29.

WERN has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI dropped 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Susquehanna raised Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,168 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 20,216 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 53,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 145.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

WERN opened at $34.44 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.84. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.26% and a net margin of 1.13%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.82%.

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.