Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN Shares Purchased by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by purchasing an additional 26,158 shares, raising its ownership to 27,708 shares valued at approximately $812,000.
• Werner Enterprises announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14, representing an annualized dividend of $0.56 and a yield of 2.0%, which will be paid on October 22nd.
• The stock has seen a range between a 12-month low of $23.02 and a high of $42.48, with a current market capitalization of $1.71 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27.

Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 1,687.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,708 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,158 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 22,516 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 14,528 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WERN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of WERN stock traded down $0.69 on Friday, hitting $28.01. 557,715 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,459. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $28.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.09. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.02 and a twelve month high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. Werner Enterprises's revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Werner Enterprises

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.