Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 1,600 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,430 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 2,390.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the third quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of WERN opened at $32.56 on Friday. 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 $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 59.20 and a beta of 0.84. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.05 and a 12-month high of $42.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.13.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released 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 net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. Analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.82%.

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.