Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Upgraded at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded Werner Enterprises to a "strong-buy" rating, adding to a wave of mixed but generally improving analyst sentiment on the stock.
• The current analyst consensus remains "Hold", with a consensus price target of $39.15 even after several recent rating changes and target increases.
• Werner recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.02 per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in below expectations at $730.14 million; shares opened at $43.16 and are near their 52-week high.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Stephens to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Evercore upgraded Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.15.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WERN opened at $43.16 on Wednesday. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $45.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -287.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.26.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $730.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.50 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 0.28%.Werner Enterprises's revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,201,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 205,654 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,172,000 after purchasing an additional 30,812 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,750,034 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $82,529,000 after purchasing an additional 120,343 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,514,200 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $195,491,000 after buying an additional 90,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 180.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 578,761 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $17,369,000 after acquiring an additional 372,629 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Werner Enterprises

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.