Empowered Funds LLC Grows Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Empowered Funds increased its Werner Enterprises stake by 30% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 284,197 shares valued at approximately $8.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.32% of the company.
• Werner Enterprises reported quarterly EPS of $0.22, below the $0.24 consensus estimate, while revenue of $813.36 million also missed expectations of $931.12 million. Revenue nevertheless rose 24% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.56 payout and a 1.4% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $41.54.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 30.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 284,197 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 65,534 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.47% of Werner Enterprises worth $8,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1,147.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,020 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,377 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WERN opened at $38.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.75. 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 market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.27. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $47.49.

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

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -73.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WERN shares. Susquehanna raised Werner Enterprises from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered Werner Enterprises from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. 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 research 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, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.54.

Werner Enterprises 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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