Robert W. Baird Upgrades Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) to “Neutral”

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $34.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.96% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $31.21.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

WERN opened at $34.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.42. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $23.02 and a 1 year high of $37.63. 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 (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 0.14% and a net margin of 0.85%.The firm had revenue of $712.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. Creative Planning grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,426 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after buying an additional 13,782 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 5.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,408,000 after acquiring an additional 110,468 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 59.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 179,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,908,000 after acquiring an additional 66,927 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position 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, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 25.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 5,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Werner Enterprises

Here are the key news stories impacting Werner Enterprises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition expands dedicated market leadership — Werner agreed to acquire FirstFleet (reported deal value $245M), which management says broadens its dedicated capabilities and customer footprint, strengthening recurring revenue and cross-selling opportunities. Werner® Acquires FirstFleet, Inc., Expanding Dedicated Market Leadership
• Positive Sentiment: Scale and market position improvement — Coverage and local reporting note the deal makes Werner one of the largest U.S. trucking companies (reported as moving Werner toward a top?five position), which can improve pricing power and contract leverage in dedicated services. Omaha trucking company becomes fifth largest in the US after acquiring Tennessee company
• Neutral Sentiment: Management provided more detail on the deal in an investor M&A call transcript; the call may clarify expected synergies, integration timeline and how the acquisition will be funded. Investors will watch those disclosures for guidance. Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN) M&A Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Near?term earnings catalyst — The company is expected to report quarterly results on Thursday; that earnings release and any updated 2026 guidance will be the next major market-moving event. Werner Enterprises (WERN) Expected to Announce Earnings on Thursday
• Negative Sentiment: Costs, integration and funding risk — The $245M price tag and integration of FirstFleet create near-term execution risk (integration expenses, potential short-term margin pressure). Given Werner’s modest leverage (debt/equity ~0.52) and last quarter’s EPS miss, investors may be concerned about earnings dilution or timing of synergies. Werner Enterprises acquires FirstFleet for $245M to expand dedicated carrier operations

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.