Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Given New $52.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group lowered Werner Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.50.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 2.6 %

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $37.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Werner Enterprises has a 12 month low of $33.12 and a 12 month high of $43.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.75.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.07). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 4.70% and a net margin of 1.99%. The firm had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 30.0% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,948,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $115,347,000 after buying an additional 680,194 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 37.1% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,665,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,668,000 after acquiring an additional 450,522 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 65.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 879,371 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,455,000 after acquiring an additional 348,154 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 15.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,506,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,984,000 after acquiring an additional 201,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,000,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.