Legal & General Group Plc Takes $6.42 Million Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 147,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,421,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.25% of Werner Enterprises at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the 4th 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 grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 28.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth $128,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $37.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of -49.84, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.27. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $47.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $813.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WERN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Werner Enterprises from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Evercore upgraded Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.