Congress Asset Management Co. Boosts Holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 369,658 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,891 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.60% of Werner Enterprises worth $14,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norden Group LLC grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 1,048.4% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 91,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,572,000 after acquiring an additional 83,361 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the 1st quarter worth $267,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 59.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 12,355 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the first quarter valued at about $468,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 55,526 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 1.1 %

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $36.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $43.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.53, a P/E/G ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.10 and a 200 day moving average of $36.75.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.07). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.48% and a return on equity of 3.58%. The firm had revenue of $745.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is 76.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WERN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group lowered shares of Werner Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

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.