Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 65,845 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 672.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 75,632 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,845 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $2,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 43.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the third quarter valued at about $96,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the third quarter worth about $203,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 1.0 %

WERN stock opened at $30.22 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.26 and a twelve month high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.13%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 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, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is 101.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WERN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

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.