Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $27.66, but opened at $24.63. Werner Enterprises shares last traded at $23.67, with a volume of 263,831 shares trading hands.

The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $712.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $738.41 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WERN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.69.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% during the first 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 period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 796.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.71 and a beta of 1.06.

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.