Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Trims Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its stake in Werner Enterprises by 6.6%, owning 355,199 shares worth approximately $10.41 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Werner Enterprises reported a quarterly loss of ($0.12) earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations and showing a 7.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company's dividend yield is currently 1.91%, but it has a high payout ratio of 193.10%, indicating it pays out more in dividends than it earns.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 355,199 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 24,975 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned 0.57% of Werner Enterprises worth $10,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WERN. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 796.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN traded down $0.38 on Monday, hitting $28.95. 231,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 887,117. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $42.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.07.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.24). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 1.20% and a net margin of 0.60%. The business had revenue of $712.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $738.41 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WERN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.40.

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.