Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) dropped 4.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $36.61 and last traded at $36.72. 184,335 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 1,123,011 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WERN. Zacks Research cut Werner Enterprises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore upgraded Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.54.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.30 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $813.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. The company’s revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -73.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 205,654 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,172,000 after purchasing an additional 30,812 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,119,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 284,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,358,000 after purchasing an additional 65,534 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,860,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 510,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,024,000 after purchasing an additional 186,631 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.