Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $6.17 Million Stock Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its Werner Enterprises stake by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, holding 205,654 shares valued at about $6.17 million. Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 89.32% of the stock.
• Werner Enterprises reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.02 per share for the latest quarter, but revenue came in below analyst estimates at $730.14 million. The company also said revenue rose 13.6% year over year.
• Analysts have recently raised price targets on WERN, though the overall consensus remains cautious with an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target of $35.15. The stock traded near its 52-week high at $39.97 after rising 5.8%.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 205,654 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,812 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.34% of Werner Enterprises worth $6,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 90,480 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,791,148 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $99,782,000 after purchasing an additional 24,204 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,058,938 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $80,511,000 after purchasing an additional 165,233 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 120,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 5.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,404,508 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $63,287,000 after acquiring an additional 123,513 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Werner Enterprises

In other news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $49,318.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,945,801.88. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WERN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $35.15.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 5.8%

Shares of WERN stock opened at $39.97 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of -266.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.24. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $40.00.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.28% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. The company had revenue of $730.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $812.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -373.33%.

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.

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