Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 38,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.06% of Werner Enterprises as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1,147.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,020 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 7,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN opened at $38.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.74. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $47.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $813.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 1.18% and a negative net margin of 1.42%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 5th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -73.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.54.

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.