Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Stake Boosted by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 796.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,703 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,513 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,634,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,987,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $71,380,000 after purchasing an additional 234,811 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,660,846 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,010,000 after purchasing an additional 143,953 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,389 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,557,000 after buying an additional 124,574 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at $2,791,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WERN stock opened at $28.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.38 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.99. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.50 and a twelve month high of $42.48.

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

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is currently 101.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.07.

Werner Enterprises 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.