Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

WERN has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $26.93.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $26.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.52. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.04. Werner Enterprises has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $712.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.63 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. Werner Enterprises’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the first quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,067 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,026,000 after acquiring an additional 8,080 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 32.3% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 4,461 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 38.6% during the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in transporting truckload shipments of general commodities in interstate and intrastate commerce in the United States, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Truckload Transportation Services and Werner Logistics.