Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 121,900 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 93,053.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 122,031 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $3,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 31.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 36,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 8,665 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 2.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,239 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,565,000 after acquiring an additional 5,906 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 11,500.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 15,892 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 15,755 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the first quarter worth $244,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at $1,927,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WERN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.85.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 2.1%

WERN opened at $47.29 on Wednesday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -315.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.28% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. The firm had revenue of $730.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is presently -373.33%.

About Werner Enterprises

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.