Eric Downing Sells 1,428 Shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) COO Eric Downing sold 1,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $49,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,740. This trade represents a 2.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 7.4%

WERN stock traded down $2.63 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $32.80. 1,170,431 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,334,452. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.26. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $38.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -136.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 0.04%. The company had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently -233.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 42.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.14.

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.