Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $2.79 Million in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 77,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,791,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.13% of Werner Enterprises as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the third quarter valued at about $96,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,976 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WERN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.13.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WERN opened at $29.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.33 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.22. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.77 and a 1 year high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 2.27%. On average, research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.82%.

Werner Enterprises Company 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.