William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases 15,800 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 735,695 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 15,800 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.19% of Werner Enterprises worth $26,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $96,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WERN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. StockNews.com raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna raised Werner Enterprises from a "negative" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Werner Enterprises stock traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $29.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,317,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,266. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.76 and a beta of 0.85. The business's fifty day moving average price is $33.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.45. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.77 and a twelve month 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 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%. Equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders 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 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.