Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN Position Lessened by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.19% of Werner Enterprises worth $3,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,067 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,026,000 after purchasing an additional 8,080 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 164.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 6,879 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at $686,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at $265,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 53,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 13,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 3.8%

WERN opened at $27.66 on Thursday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a one year low of $23.02 and a one year high of $42.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.03 and its 200-day moving average is $28.93. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.92% and a net margin of 1.77%.The company had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is presently 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Werner Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays cut 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

About Werner Enterprises

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.