Dean Capital Management Cuts Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Dean Capital Management lowered its position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 55,713 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WERN shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $33.15.

Insider Transactions at Werner Enterprises

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $49,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,740. The trade was a 2.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 0.7%

WERN stock opened at $27.62 on Monday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.02 and a twelve month high of $38.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of -115.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.51 and a 200 day moving average of $29.70.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The company had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is currently -233.33%.

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.