Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 15,005 Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,005 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,987,187 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,380,000 after purchasing an additional 234,811 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,660,846 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $59,010,000 after purchasing an additional 143,953 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,389 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,557,000 after acquiring an additional 124,574 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth $2,791,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 672.8% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 75,632 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,717,000 after acquiring an additional 65,845 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.84. The company had a trading volume of 121,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 793,421. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.30. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 50.60 and a beta of 1.06. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a one year low of $26.50 and a one year high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WERN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.71.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.