Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.1538.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WERN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $49,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,740. This represents a 2.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 42.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of WERN stock opened at $35.91 on Wednesday. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $38.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.47 and its 200-day moving average is $30.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -239.40, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.28% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. The company had revenue of $730.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. Werner Enterprises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently -373.33%.

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.