Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $27.66, but opened at $24.63. Werner Enterprises shares last traded at $23.67, with a volume of 263,831 shares.

The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.24). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. The business had revenue of $712.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $738.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered Werner Enterprises from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at $35,257,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,634,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,987,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $71,380,000 after purchasing an additional 234,811 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,835,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,844,000 after purchasing an additional 174,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,389 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,557,000 after buying an additional 124,574 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.68. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 44.84 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

About Werner Enterprises

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.