Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $27.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Werner Enterprises traded as low as $23.02 and last traded at $24.66, with a volume of 3528629 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.66.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI downgraded Werner Enterprises from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,660,846 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $59,010,000 after buying an additional 143,953 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,730,457 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $241,758,000 after purchasing an additional 32,228 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 435,447 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $16,804,000 after buying an additional 49,568 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,479 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.76 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.24). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $712.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $738.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.