Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Werner Enterprises shares experienced a price increase, opening at $27.40 after closing at $26.28, with a recent trading volume of 191,980 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for the stock, with two suggesting a Buy, while seven rated it a Sell; the consensus target price is $27.57.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.0%, alongside a stock buyback program allowing repurchase of 5 million shares.

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $26.28, but opened at $27.40. Werner Enterprises shares last traded at $27.25, with a volume of 191,980 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WERN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Werner Enterprises from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $27.57.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

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

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,813,038 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $199,622,000 after purchasing an additional 82,581 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,641,546 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $106,697,000 after acquiring an additional 173,572 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,893,705 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $79,172,000 after acquiring an additional 424,935 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280,995 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,408,000 after purchasing an additional 110,468 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,965,037 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $56,023,000 after purchasing an additional 129,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company's stock.

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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