BlackRock Inc. Has $453.79 Million Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• BlackRock increased its Werner Enterprises stake by 17.7% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 10.4 million shares worth approximately $453.8 million, or 17.36% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 89.32% of WERN.
• Werner’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.22 versus the $0.24 consensus and revenue of $813.36 million versus $931.12 million expected. Shares opened at $37.67, down 3.1%, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating and a $41.54 price target.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to $0.56 annually and a 1.5% yield, payable October 21 to shareholders of record as of October 5.

BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 17.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,405,606 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,563,170 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned about 17.36% of Werner Enterprises worth $453,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,514,200 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $195,491,000 after acquiring an additional 90,480 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,794,752 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $111,601,000 after purchasing an additional 148,826 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,055,017 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $89,848,000 after purchasing an additional 304,983 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 605.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,510,354 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $75,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,490,661 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $74,745,000 after purchasing an additional 22,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $37.67 on Tuesday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $47.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.57, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.27.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WERN has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. 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 report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.54.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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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