Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target Raised to $33.00

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

WERN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Werner Enterprises from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $30.57.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN opened at $33.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.17. Werner Enterprises has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $38.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.07.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $712.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.63 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 0.85% and a return on equity of 0.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 136.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 306.9% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,294 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 413.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,764 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.