Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,987 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 8,385 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Werner Enterprises worth $10,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 2,390.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the third quarter worth $96,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WERN. Barclays decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna upgraded Werner Enterprises from a "negative" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.29.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

WERN stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.38. The company had a trading volume of 667,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 703,401. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.10. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.13 and a beta of 0.84. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.90 and a twelve month high of $42.48. 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 (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is 101.82%.

Werner Enterprises 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.