Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes $3.32 Million Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 76,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,317,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Werner Enterprises at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WERN. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,464 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake 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 worth $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 57,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,560,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 21.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN stock opened at $38.04 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.90. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $47.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of -50.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $813.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. The business’s revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently -73.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore upgraded Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.54.

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.