Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.07.

Several analysts recently commented on WERN shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

WERN traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 71,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,062. Werner Enterprises has a fifty-two week low of $26.50 and a fifty-two week high of $42.48. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.15 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.04.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.82%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WERN. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 69.7% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 796.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.