Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,794,752 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 148,826 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.33% of Werner Enterprises worth $111,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $34,201,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 205,654 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,172,000 after acquiring an additional 30,812 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,750,034 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $82,529,000 after acquiring an additional 120,343 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,514,200 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $195,491,000 after acquiring an additional 90,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,081,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $38.31 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $42.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.40. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $47.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -255.40, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 0.28%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. Analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is presently -373.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Evercore raised Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Stephens upgraded Werner Enterprises to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.62.

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.

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