Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Rating Increased to Neutral at Robert W. Baird

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WERN. Barclays increased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen dropped their target price 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. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $31.21.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $34.33 on Thursday. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $23.02 and a 1 year high of $37.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.38 and a 200-day moving average of $28.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.07.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.18). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.14% and a net margin of 0.85%.The business had revenue of $712.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 33.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $3,717,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 413.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 306.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,294 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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: 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

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.