Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyShares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $36.50 and last traded at $36.2120, with a volume of 780963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.25.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WERN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $31.79.
Werner Enterprises Stock Performance
The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.51.
Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $712.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $763.63 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 0.85% and a return on equity of 0.14%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.59%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,464 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 57.8% during 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. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 6.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.8% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 64,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.