Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Upgraded by Susquehanna to “Neutral” Rating

Susquehanna upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a negative rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Susquehanna currently has $38.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “sell” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.29.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of WERN opened at $36.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $42.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.34, a P/E/G ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 0.84.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.06). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 1.48%. The firm had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.24 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is 76.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 29.9% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 313,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,218,000 after acquiring an additional 72,049 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the second quarter worth approximately $218,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 2.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,879 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 28.6% in the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 14,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 3,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.