AlphaQuest LLC Sells 18,548 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 37.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,448 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 18,548 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 57.8% during the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.3% during 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 valued at $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 15.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 3.0% during the first quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 14,528 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 2.2% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 23,008 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WERN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $27.57.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of WERN stock opened at $27.68 on Monday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $42.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.80 and its 200 day moving average is $27.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 6th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Company 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.