Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 47.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,973 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 133,746 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.25% of Werner Enterprises worth $4,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 325,456 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,536,000 after buying an additional 11,246 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,937,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 163.5% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 959 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the first quarter worth about $1,661,000. Finally, CW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 28.7% in the first quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 69,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15,586 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WERN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $26.93.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $30.29 on Friday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.02 and a 12 month high of $38.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 73.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.60.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.18). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.14% and a net margin of 0.85%.The business had revenue of $712.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.59%.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one‐truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.