Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised its target price for Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00, indicating a potential downside of 12.20% from the current price, while maintaining an "underweight" rating.
• The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded the stock from "sell" to "buy" and increased their target price from $25.00 to $39.00, showcasing differing opinions among analysts.
• Werner Enterprises reported a quarterly EPS of $0.11, surpassing estimates, but its revenue declined 1.0% year-over-year, totaling $753.15 million against expectations of $736.09 million.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $24.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WERN. Bank of America lifted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. 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 downgraded Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.87.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $26.85 on Wednesday. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $42.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.67.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $736.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 57.8% in the 2nd 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 during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 22,516 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the 1st 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 during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 15.9% in the 1st 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, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 14,528 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.