Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Key Points

• Werner Enterprises shares gapped down from a prior close of $32.81 to open at $31.51, trading around $32.62 afterward.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the stock carrying an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $39.77; targets range from $36 to $43 among recent analysts.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.22 in EPS versus $0.24 expected and revenue of $813.36 million versus $931.12 million forecast, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share.

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $32.81, but opened at $31.51. Werner Enterprises shares last traded at $32.6150, with a volume of 71,756 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.77.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $36.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.92 and a beta of 1.29.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.02). Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 1.18% and a negative net margin of 1.42%. The company had revenue of $813.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 5th. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is currently -73.68%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 17.7% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,405,606 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $453,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,170 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 4.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,794,752 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $111,601,000 after buying an additional 148,826 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 11.1% in the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,055,017 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $89,848,000 after buying an additional 304,983 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 3.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,637,086 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $115,003,000 after acquiring an additional 79,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 1,361.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,921,152 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $56,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789,653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1956 by C.L. Werner, the company provides freight transportation and supply chain services to customers across North America.

The company's operations include truckload transportation, dedicated transportation, and logistics services. Its truckload business transports general commodities through one-way and dedicated fleets, while its logistics operations arrange transportation using a network of carriers and other service providers.

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