Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 380,452 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 5.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,423,720 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 380,452 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Werner Enterprises worth $169,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,717,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 6.9% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 64,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 57,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 57,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Werner Enterprises

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $49,980.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $34.60 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -144.17, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.95. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a one year low of $23.02 and a one year high of $38.45.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $737.64 million during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -233.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore upped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $33.14.

Werner Enterprises 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.