Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired a new stake of 35,770 shares in Werner Enterprises, Inc., valued at about $1,048,000, representing approximately 0.06% of the company's stock.
• Werner Enterprises recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, yielding 2.1%, with a high dividend payout ratio of 193.10%.
• The stock has experienced a recent decline, trading down 3.1% with a current market cap of $1.66 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 35,770 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.06% of Werner Enterprises as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,067 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,026,000 after buying an additional 8,080 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 164.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 6,879 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 1st quarter valued at about $686,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,730,457 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $241,758,000 after purchasing an additional 32,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 1st quarter valued at about $265,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:WERN traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $27.63. 288,892 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 908,286. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.74. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $42.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $27.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.59.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.92% and a net margin of 1.77%. The company 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 was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WERN. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Six 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.