Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays lowered its price target for Werner Enterprises from $40 to $38 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 26.25% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans toward “Hold”: the stock has a consensus price target of $38.85, with nine Hold, three Buy, one Strong Buy and three Sell ratings.
• Werner’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $0.22 versus $0.24 forecast and revenue of $813.36 million versus $931.12 million expected; institutional investors own 89.32% of the shares.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Barclays from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the transportation company's stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 26.25% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $35.00 price objective on Werner Enterprises in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna raised Werner Enterprises from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.85.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of WERN opened at $30.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.99. Werner Enterprises has a fifty-two week low of $23.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of -39.37 and a beta of 1.29.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $813.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the first quarter valued at about $1,119,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,421,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 284,197 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,358,000 after purchasing an additional 65,534 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,456,000. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,205,131. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Werner Enterprises

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.

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