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 trading hands.

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

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WERN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “sell” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 34.9% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 327,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,829,000 after buying an additional 84,800 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1,048.4% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 91,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,572,000 after purchasing an additional 83,361 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 65.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 879,371 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,455,000 after purchasing an additional 348,154 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 542.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 32,963 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 27,834 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 14.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 252,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,047,000 after acquiring an additional 32,503 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.74. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.79.

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.