Nuance Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Nuance Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,612,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 331,299 shares during the period. Werner Enterprises accounts for about 5.2% of Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned about 5.84% of Werner Enterprises worth $129,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the third quarter valued at approximately $485,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter worth $630,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 84,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,245,000 after acquiring an additional 19,944 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 19.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 98,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,803,000 after purchasing an additional 16,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the third quarter worth about $1,408,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on WERN shares. Susquehanna raised Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN opened at $29.97 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.36. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 54.49 and a beta of 0.85. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.77 and a 52 week high of $42.48.

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

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio 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.