Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target to $27.00

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WERN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.13.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $29.33 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.33 and a beta of 0.85. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $28.77 and a 1 year high of $42.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at $35,257,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,634,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 13.4% in the fourth 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,660,846 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,010,000 after purchasing an additional 143,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,389 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,557,000 after buying an additional 124,574 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.