14,573 Shares in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Acquired by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,573 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,150 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1,732.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,298 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 14,463 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 3rd quarter worth about $378,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the third quarter worth about $630,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.60.

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Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.93. 535,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 726,990. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.42 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.36. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.77 and a twelve month high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is 101.82%.

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.