Short Interest in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Expands By 19.4%

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,940,000 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the October 15th total of 3,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 688,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days. Approximately 6.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN stock opened at $39.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.27, a PEG ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.09. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $43.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.06). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 1.48%. The company had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WERN shares. Citigroup started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 390.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 740 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.