Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have assigned Werner Enterprises a consensus rating of "Reduce", with six sell ratings, six hold ratings, and three buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is set at $30.50.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 2.0%, and has a payout ratio currently at 65.12%.
• Institutional ownership is significant, with 89.32% of the stock held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, reflecting a growing interest in the company.

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WERN. Barclays dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,067 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,026,000 after acquiring an additional 8,080 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 164.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 6,879 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the first quarter valued at $686,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 15.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the first quarter valued at $265,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 1.6%

WERN stock opened at $28.11 on Friday. Werner Enterprises has a twelve month low of $23.02 and a twelve month high of $42.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock's 50 day moving average is $28.04 and its 200-day moving average is $28.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.92% and a net margin of 1.77%.The company had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.12%.

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

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.

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