Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $38.31, but opened at $36.34. Werner Enterprises shares last traded at $37.97, with a volume of 173,860 shares.

The transportation company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 4.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WERN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 7.4% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,167,616 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,496,000 after buying an additional 219,074 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 37.1% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,665,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,668,000 after buying an additional 450,522 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 3.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,516,893 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,537,000 after buying an additional 56,551 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 15.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,506,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,984,000 after buying an additional 201,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 65.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 879,371 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,455,000 after buying an additional 348,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.79.

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.