Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.77.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WERN. UBS Group cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 0.5%

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $26.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.52. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $23.02 and a one year high of $42.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 48.82 and a beta of 1.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $712.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $738.41 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,257,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,634,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 1,642.2% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 620,855 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $18,191,000 after buying an additional 585,218 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the first quarter worth approximately $9,102,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,987,187 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,380,000 after acquiring an additional 234,811 shares during 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.

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