Short Interest in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Decreases By 20.0%

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) saw a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,280,000 shares, a decline of 20.0% from the January 31st total of 4,100,000 shares. Approximately 5.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 651,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 1.3 %

WERN opened at $31.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.36 and a beta of 0.84. Werner Enterprises has a twelve month low of $30.90 and a twelve month high of $42.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.02.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. 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 the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 126,453 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,542,000 after buying an additional 16,366 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 55,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after buying an additional 23,120 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 224,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,071,000 after acquiring an additional 96,500 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 379,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,639,000 after acquiring an additional 105,092 shares during the period. Finally, Shay Capital LLC bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WERN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.29.

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.