Aigen Investment Management LP Purchases New Shares in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises, acquiring 13,154 shares valued at approximately $385,000 during the first quarter.
• Werner Enterprises' stock was recently upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group from "sell" to "buy," increasing the target price from $25.00 to $39.00, while the consensus rating remains "Hold" at a target price of $30.50.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14, with a yield of 2.0%, and authorized a stock buyback plan allowing for the repurchase of 5,000,000 outstanding shares.

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,154 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 13,717 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,389 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,557,000 after acquiring an additional 124,574 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 73,560 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 40,375 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 8,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,029 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WERN shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ WERN traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 917,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,238. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.02 and a 52-week high of $42.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $28.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 6th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Werner Enterprises 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.