Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $47.49 and last traded at $47.29, with a volume of 1514886 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WERN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.62.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 4.2%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.23. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -292.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $730.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.50 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.28% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. The company’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently -373.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 86.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Werner Enterprises

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.