Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $686,000 in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 23,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth $35,257,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at $31,634,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 234,811 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,389 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,557,000 after acquiring an additional 124,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 560,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $20,140,000 after acquiring an additional 110,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $27.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.17 and a 200-day moving average of $31.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.06. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.02 and a 1-year high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $712.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $738.41 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 1.20% and a net margin of 0.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WERN. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $25.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Werner Enterprises from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

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.