Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $39.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock, up from their previous price objective of $25.00.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.77.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $26.92. 473,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 835,785. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95 and a beta of 1.09. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $42.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.62.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.24). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. The business had revenue of $712.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $738.41 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 193.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 163.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 959 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 796.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.