Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target Raised to $38.00

Key Points

• Susquehanna raised its price target on Werner Enterprises to $38.00 (from $31.00) and kept a "neutral" rating, implying about a 14.22% upside
• Werner missed its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $0.05 versus a $0.09 consensus and revenue of $737.6M (below the $767.5M estimate), with revenue down 2.3% year-over-year and a slight negative net margin.
• WERN traded near $33.27 (down ~0.7%) with a one‑year range of $23.02–$38.45; institutional investors hold about 89.3% of shares and the COO recently sold 1,418 shares.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Susquehanna from $31.00 to $38.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the transportation company's stock. Susquehanna's price target indicates a potential upside of 14.22% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird raised Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $33.85.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 0.7%

WERN stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.27. 160,007 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,154,915. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $31.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.16. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $23.02 and a one year high of $38.45. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of -138.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). Werner Enterprises had a negative net margin of 0.48% and a positive return on equity of 0.04%. The firm had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of Werner Enterprises stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $49,318.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,945,801.88. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 289.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 42.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company's stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one‐truck operation and has since grown into one of North America's largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner's core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.

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