Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.5385.

Several research firms have weighed in on WERN. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Stephens raised Werner Enterprises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Werner Enterprises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 4.0%

WERN stock opened at $40.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.12. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $47.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.27.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $813.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is -73.68%.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one‐truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.