Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.73.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN opened at $27.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.71 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.01. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $27.08 and a 12-month high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. Research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.82%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 796.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.