Barclays PLC Boosts Stock Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 462,545 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,098 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.75% of Werner Enterprises worth $16,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 64.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 796.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 3rd quarter valued at $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 807,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 799,251. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $42.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.38 and a beta of 1.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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, equities analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is 101.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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 began coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.07.

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.