Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore raised Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.15.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WERN opened at $43.32 on Monday. Werner Enterprises has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $45.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.00. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -288.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.28% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. The firm had revenue of $730.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $812.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -373.33%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 49.0% during 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 grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.