Eric Downing Sells 1,418 Shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) COO Eric Downing sold 1,418 shares of Werner Enterprises stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $49,318.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,801.88. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN opened at $33.18 on Wednesday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $38.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.10 and a 200 day moving average of $29.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.25, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.08.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The company had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -233.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WERN shares. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.14.

Key Headlines Impacting Werner Enterprises

Here are the key news stories impacting Werner Enterprises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street Zen upgraded Werner to a “Hold,” a modest improvement in analyst tone that could support the shares if other analysts follow. Wall Street Zen Upgrades Werner Enterprises to Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Media outlets (TipRanks/InsiderTrades) flagged the insider transactions, increasing visibility and prompting short-term trading activity; coverage itself doesn’t change fundamentals. Top Werner Enterprises Executive Makes Attention-Grabbing Stock Move
• Negative Sentiment: COO Eric Downing sold two small blocks (1,428 shares on Feb. 19 at ~$35 and 1,418 shares on Feb. 20 at ~$34.78), reducing his stake by ~2.4%; filings show the sales totaled roughly $99k and left him with ~56k shares. The insider selling, coming after a recent earnings miss and amid mixed analyst coverage, likely triggered near-term selling pressure. Eric Downing Sells 1,418 Shares of Werner Enterprises Stock

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 605.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,510,354 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $75,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154,428 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 539.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,670,737 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,139,000 after buying an additional 1,409,556 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at $34,201,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 572.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,297,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,925,000 after buying an additional 1,104,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $23,813,000. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one?truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.