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

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.57.

WERN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “negative” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $35.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.04, a PEG ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 0.82. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $43.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.06). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 1.48%. The firm had revenue of $745.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is currently 76.71%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the third quarter worth about $485,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $630,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 362,786 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,637 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 31.1% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 84,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,245,000 after purchasing an additional 19,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 19.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 98,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,803,000 after purchasing an additional 16,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.