Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.8462.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens raised Werner Enterprises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN stock opened at $46.04 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.46. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $46.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -306.93, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $730.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.50 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 0.28%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS. Analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently -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.