Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives $37.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.13.

Several analysts have issued reports on WERN shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth about $35,257,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,634,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,987,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $71,380,000 after purchasing an additional 234,811 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,660,846 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,010,000 after purchasing an additional 143,953 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,389 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,557,000 after purchasing an additional 124,574 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $29.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.33 and a beta of 0.85. Werner Enterprises has a 1-year low of $28.77 and a 1-year high of $42.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is presently 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.