Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WERN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $26.93.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WERN opened at $25.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.04. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $42.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.50.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $712.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $763.63 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.92% and a net margin of 1.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 163.5% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 959 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 57.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 306.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,294 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.