TD Cowen Begins Coverage on Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN)

Research analysts at TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $31.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 10.51% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $31.79.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $34.64 on Friday. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $23.02 and a 52-week high of $37.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.61 and its 200 day moving average is $28.46. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.49, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.07.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $712.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $763.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 306.9% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,294 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 413.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Werner Enterprises News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Werner agreed to acquire FirstFleet for $245 million, boosting its dedicated fleet capacity by roughly 50% and strengthening its dedicated-transportation footprint and customer contracts — a near-term scale gain that should lift revenue and market share in higher-margin dedicated services. Werner Enterprises to Participate in Three Investment Conferences
• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum is improving: coverage highlights rising relative price strength for WERN, which can attract momentum-driven buyers and ETFs that follow momentum screens. Stocks with rising relative price strength: Werner Enterprises
• Neutral Sentiment: Werner will present at three investor conferences in February (Stifel, Citi, and others), providing management more opportunities to outline the FirstFleet integration plan and growth targets — useful for transparency but not an immediate earnings driver. Werner Enterprises to Participate in Three Investment Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: An M&A call transcript and multiple trucking-industry write-ups provide more detail on integration and expected synergies; these help investors assess execution risk but don’t change the deal economics immediately. Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN) M&A Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst action is mixed: Robert W. Baird upgraded WERN from “underperform” to “neutral” but set a $34 price target, slightly below current levels — signaling limited near-term upside from some sell-side desks. Finviz
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term earnings risk remains: previews (Zacks) suggest the company may not have the right mix to beat the upcoming quarter, so expectations around margins and integration costs for FirstFleet will be important when results are reported. Werner Enterprises (WERN) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth

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.