Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,055,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 390,558 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 5.11% of Werner Enterprises worth $80,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,717,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 64,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 57,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 57,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WERN. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $33.14.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 3.9%

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $33.19 on Friday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.02 and a 1 year high of $38.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.59 and its 200-day moving average is $29.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.29, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 0.04%. The business had revenue of $737.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.08 EPS. Werner Enterprises’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -233.33%.

Insider Transactions at Werner Enterprises

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $49,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,740. This represents a 2.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Werner Enterprises Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one‐truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.