Analysts Set Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Target Price at $26.93

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN – Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.9286.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $29.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.12, a PEG ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.41 and its 200 day moving average is $27.31. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $23.02 and a 1 year high of $40.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.18). The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is presently 136.59%.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 15.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 22.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,426 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after buying an additional 13,782 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,408,000 after buying an additional 110,468 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 5,633 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,784 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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