MQS Management LLC Invests $692,000 in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,305 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WERN. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 390.1% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 740 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the second quarter valued at $30,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 209.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,158 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

WERN opened at $37.52 on Thursday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.12 and a twelve month high of $43.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.94.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 4.70%. The company had revenue of $760.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $769.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Werner Enterprises’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WERN shares. UBS Group downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “negative” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.75.

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.