Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $25 Million Stock Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its ownership in Werner Enterprises, Inc. by 21.2%, acquiring an additional 149,087 shares and owning approximately 1.38% of the company by the end of the first quarter.
• Werner Enterprises recently reported earnings of $0.11 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, despite a 1.0% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company has authorized a share buyback plan allowing for the repurchase of up to 5 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock may be undervalued.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 21.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 853,258 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 149,087 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.38% of Werner Enterprises worth $25,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% in the first 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. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 796.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 15.9% in the first 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,701 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,761 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WERN traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $28.99. 761,902 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 992,334. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.02 and a 1-year high of $42.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $28.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.72.

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

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is currently 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WERN shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises 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.