Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 168,488 Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 168,488 shares of Werner Enterprises, valued at approximately $4.94 million, representing about 0.27% of the company.
• Werner Enterprises reported $0.11 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, but experienced a 1.0% revenue decline year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, payable on October 22, 2023, which results in an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 168,488 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $4,937,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Werner Enterprises as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 22,516 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 15.9% during the first 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 during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 1.6% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 33,848 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Capital Management boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 81,208 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,917,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:WERN traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $28.85. 561,313 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 775,246. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $28.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.02 and a twelve month high of $42.48.

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

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WERN shares. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.