Beaconlight Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 276,026 Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Beaconlight Capital acquired 276,026 Werner Enterprises shares worth approximately $12.0 million, giving it a 0.46% stake and making Werner its sixth-largest portfolio holding. Institutional investors collectively own 89.32% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $41.54. Recent upgrades from Robert W. Baird and Susquehanna were offset by sell and hold ratings from other firms.
• Werner reported quarterly EPS of $0.22, below the $0.24 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $813.36 million—up 24% year over year but below expectations. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14, equivalent to a 1.5% annual yield.

Beaconlight Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 276,026 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $12,037,000. Werner Enterprises makes up about 4.2% of Beaconlight Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Beaconlight Capital LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Werner Enterprises at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 205,654 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,172,000 after buying an additional 30,812 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at $1,119,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 284,197 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,358,000 after buying an additional 65,534 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,514,200 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $195,491,000 after buying an additional 90,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth $1,860,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WERN shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.54.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN opened at $38.42 on Monday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $47.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $40.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.55, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.27.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.02). Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. The firm had revenue of $813.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is presently -73.68%.

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.

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