Evercore ISI Has Lowered Expectations for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has reduced its price target for Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $23.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.80% from the current stock price.
• Various brokerages have provided mixed ratings, with Goldman Sachs increasing its target price significantly from $25.00 to $39.00, while others like Bank of America have lowered theirs.
• Werner Enterprises announced a share buyback program allowing the repurchase of 5 million shares, signaling that the board may view the stock as undervalued.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $25.00 to $23.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underperform" rating on the transportation company's stock. Evercore ISI's target price would indicate a potential downside of 11.80% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WERN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $30.00.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of WERN traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.08. 439,391 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,114. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $42.48. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $27.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $753.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Werner Enterprises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Werner Enterprises

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.

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