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

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

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on WERN. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.29.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN stock opened at $33.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.27 and a beta of 0.84. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.91 and its 200 day moving average is $37.28. Werner Enterprises has a 12 month low of $32.39 and a 12 month high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at $35,257,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at $31,634,000. Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 776,277 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew 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 valued at $71,380,000 after purchasing an additional 234,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 143,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.