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

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $20.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underperform” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target points to a potential downside of 6.64% from the company’s current price.

WERN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $33.20. The company had a trading volume of 17,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.59. Werner Enterprises has a 1-year low of $23.02 and a 1-year high of $38.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 81.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,972,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 424,935 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 234,394 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 49.1% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 704,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,283,000 after purchasing an additional 232,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings 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 worth $15,105,000 after acquiring an additional 197,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.