TrueMark Investments LLC Takes $670,000 Position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• TrueMark Investments LLC has acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises, purchasing 24,502 shares valued at approximately $670,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Analysts are bearish on Werner Enterprises, with JPMorgan and Wells Fargo lowering their price targets, setting ratings at "underweight" and "neutral" respectively.
• Werner Enterprises recently authorized a stock buyback plan to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock value amidst an annual dividend yield of 2.0%.

TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 24,502 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $670,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WERN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1,642.2% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 620,855 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $18,191,000 after acquiring an additional 585,218 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,102,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,227,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 182.3% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 327,057 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,583,000 after acquiring an additional 211,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,170,527 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $63,596,000 after acquiring an additional 183,340 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WERN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Werner Enterprises from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $27.57.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of WERN stock opened at $27.84 on Monday. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.02 and a 1 year high of $42.48. The firm's 50 day moving average is $27.77 and its 200-day moving average is $27.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.06. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Werner Enterprises's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.12%.

About Werner Enterprises

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.

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