JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target to $34.00

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

WERN has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group lowered Werner Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “negative” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN stock opened at $37.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.10 and a 200-day moving average of $36.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $43.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 4.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 390.1% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 740 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.