Key Points
- COO Eric Downing sold 1,418 shares of Werner Enterprises on Feb. 20 at an average price of $34.78, trimming his stake by 2.47% to 55,946 shares valued at about $1.95 million.
- Quarterly results missed expectations: Werner reported $0.05 EPS vs. $0.09 expected and $737.6M revenue vs. $767.5M expected, and the stock has dropped (opened at $32.80), down roughly 7.4%.
- Dividend and analyst view: The company declared a $0.14 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.56, ~1.7% yield), while analysts' average rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $33.14.
Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) COO Eric Downing sold 1,418 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $49,318.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,801.88. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.
Werner Enterprises Stock Down 7.4%
WERN stock opened at $32.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -136.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $33.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.30. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $38.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.
Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 0.04%. The firm had revenue of $737.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.
Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -233.33%.
Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 57.8% during the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 289.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore upped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $33.14.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Werner Enterprises
About Werner Enterprises
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Read More
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
