Insider Selling: Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) COO Sells $49,980.00 in Stock

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) COO Eric Downing sold 1,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $49,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,740. The trade was a 2.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $32.65 on Thursday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.02 and a 52-week high of $38.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -136.04, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WERN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the second quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.