Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $13.85 Million Stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired an additional 68,864 shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc., increasing its stake by 17.1% to a total of 472,626 shares, valued at approximately $13.85 million.
• Werner Enterprises reported a net revenue of $753.15 million for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, though their earnings per share of $0.11 still marked a decline from $0.17 per share the previous year.
• The company has authorized a share buyback program allowing for the repurchase of 5 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is currently undervalued.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 17.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 472,626 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 68,864 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.76% of Werner Enterprises worth $13,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 13,717 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 40,375 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 8,641 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,029 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,761 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 176,543 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ WERN traded up $0.3930 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.0530. 278,269 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 904,741. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $42.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $28.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.93.

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

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.0%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.12%.

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

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.