Wellington Management Group LLP Buys Shares of 880,685 Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 880,685 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $31,634,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.42% of Werner Enterprises as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WERN. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the third quarter valued at about $96,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,976 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.48. 843,759 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 792,897. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.49. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.50 and a 52-week high of $42.48.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. Research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is currently 101.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.07.

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.