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

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $25.95, but opened at $27.09. Werner Enterprises shares last traded at $26.10, with a volume of 152,793 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WERN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Werner Enterprises from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $25.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday. Four 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 company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.77.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.82 and a beta of 1.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) 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 analyst estimates of $738.41 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is 193.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth $35,257,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth about $31,634,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1,642.2% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 620,855 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $18,191,000 after acquiring an additional 585,218 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth about $9,102,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,987,187 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $71,380,000 after acquiring an additional 234,811 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.