Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $686,000 Investment in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,420 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,168 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 20,216 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 53,495 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,761 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.25. 1,263,438 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 794,018. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.66. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.02 and a 12 month high of $42.48. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.13 and its 200 day moving average is $31.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 93.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.24). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 1.20%. The firm had revenue of $712.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $738.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WERN. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.50.

About Werner Enterprises

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.