Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Trading Down 8.4% – What’s Next?

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) traded down 8.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $30.39 and last traded at $30.39. 727,196 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 1,257,250 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WERN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $33.15.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -128.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The firm had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. Werner Enterprises’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is -233.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $49,318.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,801.88. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.