Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target lifted by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 27.68% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on WERN. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered Werner Enterprises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Stephens upgraded Werner Enterprises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.77.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of WERN stock traded up $0.56 on Thursday, reaching $32.90. 299,379 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,099,211. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $47.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of -43.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.77.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $813.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 1.18% and a negative net margin of 1.42%.Werner Enterprises’s revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,405,606 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $453,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,170 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,794,752 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,601,000 after acquiring an additional 148,826 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,055,017 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $89,848,000 after acquiring an additional 304,983 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,637,086 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $115,003,000 after purchasing an additional 79,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1,361.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,921,152 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1956 by C.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 logistics services. Its truckload business transports general commodities through one-way and dedicated fleets, while its logistics operations arrange transportation using a network of carriers and other service providers.