Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target Raised to $34.00

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WERN. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $35.15.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $35.91 on Wednesday. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $38.46. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -239.40, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.46.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $730.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $812.50 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.28% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th 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 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is -373.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $49,318.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,945,801.88. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 42.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.