Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Citigroup

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target cut by Citigroup from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the transportation company’s stock.

WERN has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered Werner Enterprises from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.14.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $27.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $47.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of -89.38 and a beta of 1.29.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The transportation company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. The business had revenue of $825.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $956.55 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 2.03% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is -73.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 80.1% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,786 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 3,907 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 3.9% in the third quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 19.3% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 69.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 335,406 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,397,000 after acquiring an additional 137,144 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.4% during the third quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 9,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Werner Enterprises News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management said accelerated trucking-capacity reductions could support a multi-year freight upcycle. Werner also indicated that margins may rebound as cost pressures ease, offering a potential catalyst if industry pricing improves. Werner’s Leathers expects accelerated capacity reductions Werner Enterprises Signals Margin Rebound Amid Cost Headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reportedly expects upside for Werner’s shares, providing a more constructive view amid the generally cautious analyst reaction. JPMorgan analyst expects Werner stock to rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers was elected chairman of the American Trucking Associations for a one-year term. The appointment raises Werner’s industry profile but is not expected to have an immediate financial effect. Derek Leathers elected ATA chairman
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings were mixed: adjusted EPS of $0.16 matched expectations, but revenue of approximately $825.3 million fell well short of the roughly $956.6 million consensus estimate. The revenue miss, combined with weak profitability, is the primary reason investors remain cautious. How Should Investors Approach Werner Stock Post Q3 Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms lowered their price targets, including Stifel, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Barclays. Barclays cut its target to $32 and maintained an equal-weight rating, while Citigroup set a $32 neutral target. Zacks Research also downgraded WERN from hold to strong sell, intensifying selling pressure. Stifel lowers Werner expectations Citigroup cuts Werner target Wells Fargo lowers Werner expectations Morgan Stanley lowers Werner expectations Zacks downgrades Werner

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1956 by Clarence L. Werner, the company provides freight transportation and supply chain services to customers across North America.

The company’s operations include truckload transportation, dedicated transportation, and regional truckload services. Werner also provides logistics services, including freight brokerage, intermodal transportation, cross-border transportation, and supply chain management solutions.