Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 74.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,597 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,965 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.21% of Werner Enterprises worth $3,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted 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 during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 796.3% in the fourth 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. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 15.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,701 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 7.7% in 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 period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $28.01. The company had a trading volume of 917,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,238. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.02 and a 52-week high of $42.48. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $28.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.09 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is 65.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WERN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $25.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Profile

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.