Versor Investments LP Acquires New Shares in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises, purchasing 15,089 shares valued at approximately $442,000 during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Maple Rock Capital Partners and Wellington Management Group, have significantly increased their stakes in Werner Enterprises, showing strong institutional interest.
• Werner Enterprises declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.0%, and has initiated a stock repurchase program authorizing the buyback of 5 million shares, indicating management's belief the stock is undervalued.

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,089 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WERN. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 796.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 15.9% during the 1st 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 during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,701 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,761 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on WERN shares. Baird R W raised Werner Enterprises to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of WERN traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 761,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,334. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $753.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.92% and a net margin of 1.77%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises Company 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.