Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 981,540 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $35,257,000. Werner Enterprises comprises about 1.1% of Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. owned about 1.59% of Werner Enterprises as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 796.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the third quarter worth $96,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.51. 339,126 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 819,026. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.33 and a beta of 1.09. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. The firm had revenue of $712.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $738.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 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, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.69.

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.