Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Short Interest Update

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,520,000 shares, an increase of 25.3% from the May 31st total of 2,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 888,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 5.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 139.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 703 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the first quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WERN opened at $35.83 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.83. Werner Enterprises has a 1-year low of $33.12 and a 1-year high of $47.27.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.14). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm had revenue of $769.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $788.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WERN. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

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.