Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Cut to Hold at TD Cowen

TD Cowen lowered shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. TD Cowen currently has $24.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $27.71.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 6.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $26.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.06. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $42.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $753.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1,119.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,511 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 11,485 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 164.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 6,879 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 1st quarter worth $686,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 22,516 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 33,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.