Brokerages Set Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) PT at $34.71

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.07.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WERN shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN opened at $27.55 on Friday. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $26.50 and a 1 year high of $42.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.88. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.09 and a beta of 1.06. 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 (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 171.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,743 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 7,422 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 12.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 435,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,804,000 after purchasing an additional 49,568 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the third quarter worth about $96,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 2,445 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently 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.