Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Trading 5% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Werner Enterprises' stock price increased by 5% to $29.26, though trading volume was notably low at approximately 67,305 shares, a 93% decline from its average volume.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock, with three Buy ratings, six Hold ratings, and six Sell ratings, reflecting an average target price of $30.50.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0%, and initiated a stock buyback program of up to 5 million shares.

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $28.93 and last traded at $29.26. Approximately 67,305 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 904,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

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

Werner Enterprises declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.2% in 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. lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,641,546 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $106,697,000 after purchasing an additional 173,572 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,893,705 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $79,172,000 after buying an additional 424,935 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $62,408,000 after buying an additional 110,468 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,121,696 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $76,211,000 after buying an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company's stock.

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.