Citigroup Upgrades Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) to Neutral

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Monday. The brokerage presently has a $34.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.39% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WERN. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore increased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $33.15.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 7.2%

WERN opened at $30.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -128.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.68. Werner Enterprises has a fifty-two week low of $23.02 and a fifty-two week high of $38.45.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 0.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $49,980.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 57,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,007,740. This represents a 2.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 5,473 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,697 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 5,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,019 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 2,736 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.