Zacks Research Downgrades Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) to Hold

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

WERN has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Susquehanna raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.54.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ WERN opened at $37.82 on Tuesday. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $47.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of -49.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.40 and a 200 day moving average of $36.57.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.02). Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 1.18% and a negative net margin of 1.42%.The company had revenue of $813.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth about $128,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.