Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Common Stock
Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market SM tier of the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “WERN”. As of February 8, 2021, our common stock was held by 369 stockholders of record. Because many of our shares of common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of stockholders represented by these record holders.
Dividend Policy
We have paid cash dividends on our common stock following each fiscal quarter since the first payment in July 1987. Our current quarterly dividend rate is $0.09 per common share. We currently intend to continue paying a regular quarterly dividend. We do not currently anticipate any restrictions on our future ability to pay such dividends. However, we cannot give any assurance that dividends will be paid in the future or of the amount of any such quarterly or special dividends because they are dependent on our earnings, financial condition and other factors.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
For information on our equity compensation plans, please refer to Item 12 of Part III of this Form 10-K.
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Performance Graph
Comparison of Five-Year Cumulative Total Return
The following graph is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, and the report shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any prior or subsequent filing by us under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act except to the extent we specifically request that such information be incorporated by reference or treated as soliciting material.
12/31/2015 12/31/2016 12/31/2017 12/31/2018 12/31/2019 12/31/2020
Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN) $ 100 $ 116 $ 168 $ 130 $ 182 $ 198
Standard & Poor’s 500 $ 100 $ 112 $ 136 $ 130 $ 171 $ 203
2020 Peer Group $ 100 $ 131 $ 169 $ 139 $ 195 $ 258
Assuming the investment of $100 on December 31, 2015, and reinvestment of all dividends, the graph above compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock for the last five fiscal years with the cumulative total return of Standard & Poor’s 500 Market Index and our Peer Group over the same period. Our Peer Group includes companies similar to us in the transportation industry and has the following companies: ArcBest; Covenant Transportation; Echo Global Logistics; Forward Air; Heartland Express; Hub Group; JB Hunt; Kansas City Southern; Knight-Swift Transportation; Landstar System; Marten Transport; Old Dominion Freight Line; Saia; Schneider National; US Xpress; and YRC Worldwide. Our stock price was $39.22 as of December 31, 2020. This price was used for purposes of calculating the total return on our common stock for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
On May 14, 2019, our Board of Directors approved and announced a new stock repurchase program under which the Company is authorized to repurchase up to 5,000,000 shares of its common stock. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had purchased 2,182,992 shares pursuant to the new authorization and had 2,817,008 shares remaining available for repurchase. The Company may purchase shares from time to time depending on market, economic and other factors. The authorization will continue unless withdrawn by the Board of Directors.
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The following table summarizes our stock repurchases during fourth quarter 2020 made pursuant to this authorization. The Company did not purchase any shares during fourth quarter 2020 other than pursuant to this authorization. All stock repurchases were made by the Company or on its behalf and not by any “affiliated purchaser”, as defined by Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Period Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased Average Price Paid per Share (or Unit) Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares (or Units) that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
October 1-31, 2020 0 $ — 0 4,017,008
November 1-30, 2020 732,659 $ 39.82 732,659 3,284,349
December 1-31, 2020 467,341 $ 39.68 467,341 2,817,008
Total 1,200,000 $ 39.77 1,200,000 2,817,008
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
The following selected financial data should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes under Item 8 of Part II of this Form 10-K.
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Operating revenues $ 2,372,178 $ 2,463,701 $ 2,457,914 $ 2,116,737 $ 2,008,991
Net income (1)
169,078 166,944 168,148 202,889 79,129
Diluted earnings per share (1)
2.44 2.38 2.33 2.80 1.09
Cash dividends declared per share (2)
0.36 4.11 0.34 0.27 0.24
Total assets 2,156,676 2,143,864 2,083,504 1,807,991 1,793,003
Total debt 200,000 300,000 125,000 75,000 180,000
Stockholders’ equity (1)
1,195,040 1,111,008 1,264,753 1,184,782 994,787
Book value per share (1) (3)
17.59 16.04 17.95 16.36 13.78
Return on average stockholders’ equity (1) (4)
14.7 % 14.6 % 13.7 % 19.5 % 8.2 %
Return on average total assets (1) (5)
8.0 % 7.8 % 8.7 % 11.5 % 4.7 %
Operating ratio (consolidated) (6)
90.4 % 90.8 % 90.9 % 93.2 % 93.7 %
(1) Includes the $110.5 million, or $1.52 per diluted share, non-cash reduction in income tax expense in 2017 resulting from the revaluation of net deferred income tax liabilities due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Excluding this item, return on average total assets was 5.3%, and return on average stockholders’ equity was 9.0% for 2017. Management believes the exclusion of the tax reform benefit provides a more useful comparison of the Company’s performance from period to period.
(2) Includes a $3.75 per share special dividend declared in May 2019.
(3) Stockholders’ equity divided by common shares outstanding as of the end of the period. Book value per share indicates the dollar value remaining for common shareholders if all assets were liquidated at recorded amounts and all debts were paid at recorded amounts.
(4) Net income expressed as a percentage of average stockholders’ equity. Return on equity is a measure of a corporation’s profitability relative to recorded shareholder investment.
(5) Net income expressed as a percentage of average total assets. Return on assets is a measure of a corporation’s profitability relative to recorded assets.
(6) Operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenues. Operating ratio is a common measure used in the trucking industry to evaluate profitability.
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