Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 on October 21st

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share by the transportation company on Wednesday, October 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th.

Werner Enterprises has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 4 years. Werner Enterprises has a dividend payout ratio of 42.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Werner Enterprises to earn $2.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.8%.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 3.9%

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $37.85 on Thursday. Werner Enterprises has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $47.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.70.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.02). Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. The company had revenue of $813.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on WERN shares. Stephens raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised Werner Enterprises from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.54.

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.