Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $36.50 and last traded at $36.2120, with a volume of 780963 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WERN. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $31.79.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 6.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.51.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $712.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.63 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 0.85% and a return on equity of 0.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 5th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 136.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 33.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 5,473 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,697 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,717,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 7.3% during the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,784 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at approximately $225,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.