Vanguard Group Inc. Has $199.62 Million Holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 1.2%, owning approximately 11.01% of the company with a market value of $199.62 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several research firms have adjusted their price targets on Werner's stock, with an average target of $30.50 and mixed ratings ranging from "buy" to "sell" among analysts.
• Werner Enterprises announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, alongside a stock buyback program authorizing the purchase of 5 million shares, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,813,038 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 82,581 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.01% of Werner Enterprises worth $199,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 389.0% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 7,624 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1,687.6% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 27,708 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 26,158 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 46.1% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 63,702 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 20,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.7% in the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 51,953 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" 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 report on Saturday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $25.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $28.95. The company had a trading volume of 590,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,695. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business's 50 day moving average price is $28.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.02 and a 1-year high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business 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%.Werner Enterprises's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

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

Werner Enterprises announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board 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.