Bank of America Cuts Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target to $26.00

Key Points

• Bank of America has lowered its target price for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from $27.00 to $26.00, maintaining an "underperform" rating which suggests a potential downside of 6.36% from the current price.
• In addition to Bank of America, multiple analysts have expressed bearish views, with Evercore ISI and Robert W. Baird both assigning "underperform" ratings and target prices around $25.00.
• Werner Enterprises reported a net margin of 1.77% and a quarterly revenue decrease of 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year, but surpassed EPS expectations by reporting $0.11 against a consensus estimate of $0.05.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Bank of America from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has an underperform rating on the transportation company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WERN. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 1.5%

WERN stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,593. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $23.02 and a 52-week high of $42.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.19.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. The company had revenue of $753.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $736.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.12%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 163.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 959 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 57.8% in the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 69.7% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 306.9% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,294 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.