Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $29.17 and last traded at $29.23, with a volume of 331654 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WERN shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.61. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is currently 101.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 126,453 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,542,000 after buying an additional 16,366 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 70.5% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 55,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 23,120 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 224,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,071,000 after purchasing an additional 96,500 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 379,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,639,000 after purchasing an additional 105,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shay Capital LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.