Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Werner Enterprises “Hold” overall: Of 16 covering firms, nine recommend holding the stock, with an average 12-month price target of $38.85.
• Third-quarter weakness is pressuring the shares: Werner issued a profit warning and preliminary results below expectations, driving a sharp stock decline and raising the risk of downward estimate revisions.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 89.32%: The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.85.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WERN shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Evercore raised Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

More Werner Enterprises News

Here are the key news stories impacting Werner Enterprises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays maintained an “equal weight” rating but reduced its price target from $40 to $38. The revised target still implies meaningful upside from recent trading levels, suggesting the analyst sees potential value despite near-term headwinds. Barclays price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Before the preliminary update, Zacks said Werner had factors that could support an earnings beat, while another report noted that the company was scheduled to release quarterly results. Those expectations have since been overtaken by the company’s profit warning and early third-quarter readout. Zacks earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Werner issued a third-quarter profit warning and preliminary adjusted EPS and revenue guidance that missed market expectations. The disappointing early results prompted a sharp decline in the stock and raise the risk of downward revisions to analyst estimates. Werner Enterprises issues Q3 profit warning Preliminary Q3 results
• Negative Sentiment: The early third-quarter readout missed expectations, confirming that earnings weakness—not simply broader market trading—is the key near-term driver of selling in WERN. Investors will focus on the company’s detailed quarterly report and outlook for evidence of when margins and freight demand may recover. MarketWatch preliminary Q3 readout

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 56.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 860 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 5.4% during the third quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 9,098 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 21.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 185.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,266 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $29.80 on Wednesday. Werner Enterprises has a 52-week low of $23.06 and a 52-week high of $47.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.00 and a 200 day moving average of $37.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of -39.21 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last released 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). Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.18%. The firm had revenue of $813.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -73.68%.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1956 by Clarence 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 regional truckload services. Werner also provides logistics services, including freight brokerage, intermodal transportation, cross-border transportation, and supply chain management solutions.

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