Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $30.48 and last traded at $30.52, with a volume of 958090 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WERN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.56 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 271.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 34.2% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 2,079 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 3.6% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 53,136 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.8% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 362,786 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,000,000 after buying an additional 16,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.