Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $29.17 and last traded at $29.23, with a volume of 331654 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WERN shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. On average, analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is currently 101.82%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1,732.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 14,463 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $378,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,943,893 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $152,195,000 after acquiring an additional 776,277 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.