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

Key Points

• Werner Enterprises has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 16 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $39.92.
• The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.02, beating estimates, but revenue of $730.14 million came in below expectations despite being up 13.6% from a year ago.
• Werner also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, payable July 22, implying an annualized yield of about 1.3%.

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.9231.

WERN has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore upgraded Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $43.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $40.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.29. Werner Enterprises has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $45.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -292.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.28% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. The firm had revenue of $730.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is -373.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,660 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 5,473 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,697 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 24.5% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,767 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,100,000 after buying an additional 15,109 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 159.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 226,085 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,186,000 after buying an additional 138,995 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Werner Enterprises

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.

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