Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Short Interest Down 23.3% in April

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,152,251 shares, a drop of 23.3% from the March 31st total of 2,807,430 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 896,524 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Werner Enterprises

In other news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $49,318.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,945,801.88. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 289.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 42.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $34.40 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.37. Werner Enterprises has a twelve month low of $23.02 and a twelve month high of $38.45. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -143.33, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The firm had revenue of $730.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $806.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is presently -233.33%.

More Werner Enterprises News

Here are the key news stories impacting Werner Enterprises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted Q1 earnings beat consensus (company reported $0.02 EPS vs. estimates near a loss) — this surprise helped reassure investors on near‑term profitability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full‑year outlook and highlighted momentum in core businesses (dedicated revenue and fleet growth, 95% customer retention, benefit from the FirstFleet acquisition) — a bullish signal for forward revenue and mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released its earnings presentation and slide deck offering detail on strategy and metrics for investors to dig into; useful for modeling but not a direct catalyst by itself. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Top‑line mixed vs. consensus — revenue growth was reported year‑over‑year but missed some analysts’ revenue estimates, and certain reports show a GAAP net loss/diluted EPS weakness, creating confusion and downside pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capex and liabilities (higher PPE purchases, increased total liabilities) and some insider selling/mixed institutional flows increase balance‑sheet and governance concerns for cautious investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed (median price targets around $33, with some underweight calls), so follow‑through buying may be limited until clearer evidence of sustainable margin recovery appears. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WERN shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $33.85.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.

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