Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target Lowered to $22.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price target for Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $22.00, suggesting a potential downside of over 20% from the stock's previous close.
• Several analysts have adjusted their ratings for Werner Enterprises, with three rating it as a Buy, seven as Hold, and six as Sell, leading to an average rating of "Reduce".
• The company declared a stock repurchase plan allowing it to buy back 5 million shares, indicating a belief by its board that the stock is undervalued.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the transportation company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential downside of 20.09% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WERN. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $29.71.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

WERN stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $27.53. The company had a trading volume of 39,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,144. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.06. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $42.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.78.

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

Werner Enterprises declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,067 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,026,000 after buying an additional 8,080 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Werner Enterprises by 164.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 6,879 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises during the first quarter worth about $686,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.