Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $9.03 Million Stock Holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 308,067 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 8,080 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.50% of Werner Enterprises worth $9,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 796.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN stock opened at $28.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.07. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $42.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.40 and a 200-day moving average of $30.49.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.24). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 1.20%. The business had revenue of $712.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $738.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Baird R W raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Werner Enterprises from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Seven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.40.

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.