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

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised Werner Enterprises’ price target from $40 to $42 while maintaining a “hold” rating, implying 27.68% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but centers on “Hold”: the consensus price target is $39.77, with eight Hold, four Buy, three Sell, and one Strong Buy ratings.
• Werner’s latest quarter fell short of expectations, reporting $0.22 in EPS versus $0.24 expected and revenue of $813.36 million versus $931.12 million forecast, despite 24% year-over-year revenue growth.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "hold" rating on the transportation company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.68% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WERN. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Zacks Research cut shares of Werner Enterprises from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. TD Cowen cut their target price on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.77.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of WERN stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $32.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 299,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,099,211. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $47.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.22 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $36.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.77.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the second quarter worth approximately $65,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 40.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,266 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the second quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

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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