Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WERN opened at $29.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.76 and a beta of 0.85. Werner Enterprises has a twelve month low of $28.77 and a twelve month high of $42.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.45.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. 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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,730,457 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $241,758,000 after purchasing an additional 32,228 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,943,893 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $152,195,000 after buying an additional 776,277 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,121,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,211,000 after acquiring an additional 19,370 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,987,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $71,380,000 after acquiring an additional 234,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,660,846 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,010,000 after acquiring an additional 143,953 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by 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.