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

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. 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 changing hands.

The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $712.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $738.41 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 EPS.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WERN shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Werner Enterprises from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 255,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 4,461 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,067 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,026,000 after acquiring an additional 8,080 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.27 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.60.

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.