Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WERN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Stephens reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $40.83.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $36.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.82. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $47.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.02.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $769.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $788.30 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 139.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 703 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.