Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $20.00 to $31.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential downside of 6.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WERN. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $30.21.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN opened at $33.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.71, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.07. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $23.02 and a 1 year high of $38.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.10.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.18). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.14% and a net margin of 0.85%.The firm had revenue of $712.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $763.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter worth $12,972,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 17.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,893,705 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $79,172,000 after acquiring an additional 424,935 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 222.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 339,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,938,000 after acquiring an additional 234,394 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 49.1% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 704,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,283,000 after purchasing an additional 232,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 573,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,105,000 after purchasing an additional 197,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.