Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 38,063 Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 38,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 1,147.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,020 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 7,377 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

WERN opened at $38.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.74. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $47.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.02). Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 1.18% and a negative net margin of 1.42%.The firm had revenue of $813.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -73.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.54.

Werner Enterprises Company 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.