Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 79,700 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 236.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,363 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $4,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,879 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 2.5% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 390.1% in 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 in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,913 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,019 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WERN shares. UBS Group cut 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. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “negative” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.08.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $38.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.90. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.12 and a 52 week high of $43.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released 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). The company had revenue of $760.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.81 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 4.70%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

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.