Bank of America Cuts Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target to $26.00

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its target price reduced by Bank of America from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $30.43.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of WERN opened at $28.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Werner Enterprises has a 1-year low of $23.02 and a 1-year high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 163.5% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 959 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 57.8% during the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 69.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 306.9% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,294 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is 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.