Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.14

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share by the transportation company on Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th.

Werner Enterprises has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 4 years. Werner Enterprises has a payout ratio of 42.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Werner Enterprises to earn $1.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.7%.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 0.4%

WERN stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.99. The company had a trading volume of 398,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,173,049. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -246.57, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.95. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $38.46.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $730.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.50 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 0.28%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $49,318.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,945,801.88. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,464 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,717,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 6.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.8% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 64,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 57,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one?truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.