Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 42,199 Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. by 27.4%, owning 196,181 shares valued at $5.7 million as of the latest filing.
• Werner Enterprises announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14, representing an annualized yield of 2.0%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 6th.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.50, influenced by recent performance and earnings reports.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,181 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,199 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of Werner Enterprises worth $5,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth $35,257,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at $31,634,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 182.3% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 327,057 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,583,000 after buying an additional 211,215 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,835,187 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $53,844,000 after buying an additional 174,341 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,641,546 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $106,697,000 after buying an additional 173,572 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN traded up $1.6350 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.7450. 160,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 901,662. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.02 and a twelve month high of $42.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.04 and a 200 day moving average of $28.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

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 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 yield of 1.9%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WERN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average 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.