NFJ Investment Group LLC Acquires Shares of 69,518 Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 69,518 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $2,497,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned about 0.11% of Werner Enterprises at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 171.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,743 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 7,422 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 12.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 435,447 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,804,000 after acquiring an additional 49,568 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the third quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,856 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 1.1 %

WERN traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.40. 110,348 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 795,763. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 51.68 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.52. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.50 and a 1 year high of $42.48.

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

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is currently 101.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WERN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.71.

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.