310,655 Shares in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN Bought by Bridgeway Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC has made a significant investment of $9.10 million in Werner Enterprises, acquiring 310,655 shares of the company during the first quarter.
• Werner Enterprises has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, reflecting a 2.0% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date set for October 6th.
• The company's stock has recently seen mixed reports from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a target price of $30.50.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 310,655 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $9,102,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned 0.50% of Werner Enterprises at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WERN. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,634,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 182.3% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 327,057 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,583,000 after acquiring an additional 211,215 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 9.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,170,527 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $63,596,000 after acquiring an additional 183,340 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 10.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,835,187 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $53,844,000 after acquiring an additional 174,341 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.0% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,641,546 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $106,697,000 after acquiring an additional 173,572 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of WERN stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.61. 566,660 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 681,714. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.09. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $42.48. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $28.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. The business's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WERN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $25.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $30.50.

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.