AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 65.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 879,371 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 348,154 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $31,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 390.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 740 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

NASDAQ WERN opened at $38.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.88. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $43.26. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 0.79.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 4.70%. The firm had revenue of $760.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $769.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is 42.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WERN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.08.

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.