Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

WERN has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $33.15.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

WERN opened at $30.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $38.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.60 and a 200-day moving average of $29.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.33, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.06.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The business had revenue of $737.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $49,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 57,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,740. This represents a 2.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 52.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 573,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,105,000 after buying an additional 197,155 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 174,842 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 27,869 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 22.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,426 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,782 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 5.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,408,000 after purchasing an additional 110,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 49.1% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 704,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,283,000 after purchasing an additional 232,149 shares in the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.