First Trust Advisors LP Sells 1,902,480 Shares of Schneider National, Inc. $SNDR

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its Schneider National stake by 48%, selling 1,902,480 shares and retaining 2,060,230 shares (about a 1.18% ownership) valued at roughly $43.6 million.
• Schneider's board approved a $150 million share buyback (up to ~2.9% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share (annualized $0.40, ~1.6% yield).
• The company missed quarterly expectations—EPS $0.13 vs. $0.21 consensus and revenue $1.25B vs. $1.45B expected—and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $28.43.

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Schneider National, Inc. (NYSE:SNDR - Free Report) by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,060,230 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,902,480 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.18% of Schneider National worth $43,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Schneider National in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Schneider National by 86.3% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,290 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schneider National by 136.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 4,784 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Schneider National in the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Schneider National in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Institutional investors own 28.54% of the company's stock.

Schneider National Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE:SNDR opened at $25.13 on Thursday. Schneider National, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.11 and a 12 month high of $30.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.59, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.34.

Schneider National (NYSE:SNDR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). Schneider National had a net margin of 1.83% and a return on equity of 3.66%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. Schneider National's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Schneider National, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schneider National announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Schneider National Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is a positive change from Schneider National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Schneider National's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.41%.

Insider Activity at Schneider National

In other news, CFO Darrell George Campbell sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.89, for a total transaction of $173,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 66,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,914,684.75. This represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 32.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Schneider National from $19.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Schneider National from $21.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Schneider National from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. National Bank Financial set a $27.00 price objective on Schneider National in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Schneider National from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.43.

Schneider National Company Profile

Schneider National, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics services in North America. The company offers a full spectrum of solutions, including truckload transportation, intermodal services and dedicated logistics. Through these offerings, Schneider supports the movement of goods ranging from dry van freight to refrigerated and flatbed shipments, while also providing customized supply chain management and warehousing capabilities.

Founded in 1935 by Al Schneider as a single-truck operation in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the company has grown into one of the industry's most recognized carriers.

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