Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.1429.

A number of equities analysts have commented on WERN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, February 6th.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 5,473 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,697 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 401 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 131.9% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 12,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,235 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN stock opened at $32.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.50 and its 200 day moving average is $28.97. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $38.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.94.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $737.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.51 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 0.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.