Meros Investment Management LP Buys Shares of 279,870 Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Meros Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 279,870 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,205,131,000. Werner Enterprises comprises 3.9% of Meros Investment Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth about $128,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WERN. Zacks Research cut shares of Werner Enterprises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.54.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $37.64 on Wednesday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $47.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.53, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.02). Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. The firm had revenue of $813.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 5th. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is -73.68%.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one‐truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.