Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $37.43, but opened at $36.53. Werner Enterprises shares last traded at $36.49, with a volume of 123,513 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WERN. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.14.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 2.4 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.84.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.06). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 1.48%. The business had revenue of $745.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 2,390.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.