Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Shares in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 77,696 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $2,791,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Werner Enterprises at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,168 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 20,216 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 53,495 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,761 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 4.7 %

WERN traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,722,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,861. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.38 and a beta of 1.06. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $42.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $712.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $738.41 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. Werner Enterprises's revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $27.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.92.

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.