Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 173,572 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,641,546 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 173,572 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 5.89% of Werner Enterprises worth $106,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 796.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $28.23. 699,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 796,524. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.34, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.02 and a 12 month high of $42.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.35.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.24). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 1.20%. The company had revenue of $712.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $738.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Werner Enterprises's revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is 193.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WERN. UBS Group cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.40.

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.