Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN Shares Acquired by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP significantly increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by **865.2%**, acquiring an additional **153,400 shares** for a total of **171,129 shares** worth approximately **$5 million**.
• Goldman Sachs has upgraded Werner Enterprises from a **"sell"** to a **"buy"** rating, raising the price target from **$25.00 to $39.00**, indicating growing confidence in the company's outlook.
• Werner Enterprises declared a quarterly dividend of **$0.14 per share** and announced a share repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of **5 million shares**, reflecting confidence in its valuation.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 865.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,129 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 153,400 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.28% of Werner Enterprises worth $5,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,067 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,026,000 after purchasing an additional 8,080 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 164.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 6,879 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at $686,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at $265,000. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WERN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Baird R W upgraded Werner Enterprises to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.61. The company had a trading volume of 566,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,400. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.02 and a 52-week high of $42.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.35.

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

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

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

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.