Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN Stock Position Raised by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 56.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,807 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,764 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.13% of Werner Enterprises worth $2,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,791,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $99,782,000 after acquiring an additional 24,204 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,058,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $80,511,000 after purchasing an additional 165,233 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,404,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $63,287,000 after buying an additional 123,513 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 745,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $20,387,000 after acquiring an additional 94,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 736,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,392,000 after acquiring an additional 14,503 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN opened at $30.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.13 and its 200-day moving average is $29.69. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $38.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -126.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.09.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $737.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 0.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -233.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of Werner Enterprises stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $49,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,740. The trade was a 2.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WERN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.15.

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.