Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Barclays

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $38.00 to $32.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Evercore raised shares of Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.14.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $27.71 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.38 and a beta of 1.29. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $47.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The transportation company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.16. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 2.03% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The business had revenue of $825.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $956.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 5th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is -180.65%.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 17.7% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,405,606 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $453,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563,170 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 4.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,794,752 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $111,601,000 after acquiring an additional 148,826 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 11.1% in the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,055,017 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $89,848,000 after purchasing an additional 304,983 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 3.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,637,086 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $115,003,000 after purchasing an additional 79,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 1,361.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,921,152 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Werner Enterprises

Here are the key news stories impacting Werner Enterprises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management said accelerated trucking-capacity reductions could support a multi-year freight upcycle. Werner also indicated that margins may rebound as cost pressures ease, offering a potential catalyst if industry pricing improves. Werner’s Leathers expects accelerated capacity reductions Werner Enterprises Signals Margin Rebound Amid Cost Headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reportedly expects upside for Werner’s shares, providing a more constructive view amid the generally cautious analyst reaction. JPMorgan analyst expects Werner stock to rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers was elected chairman of the American Trucking Associations for a one-year term. The appointment raises Werner’s industry profile but is not expected to have an immediate financial effect. Derek Leathers elected ATA chairman
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings were mixed: adjusted EPS of $0.16 matched expectations, but revenue of approximately $825.3 million fell well short of the roughly $956.6 million consensus estimate. The revenue miss, combined with weak profitability, is the primary reason investors remain cautious. How Should Investors Approach Werner Stock Post Q3 Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms lowered their price targets, including Stifel, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Barclays. Barclays cut its target to $32 and maintained an equal-weight rating, while Citigroup set a $32 neutral target. Zacks Research also downgraded WERN from hold to strong sell, intensifying selling pressure. Stifel lowers Werner expectations Citigroup cuts Werner target Wells Fargo lowers Werner expectations Morgan Stanley lowers Werner expectations Zacks downgrades Werner

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1956 by Clarence L. Werner, the company provides freight transportation and supply chain services to customers across North America.

The company’s operations include truckload transportation, dedicated transportation, and regional truckload services. Werner also provides logistics services, including freight brokerage, intermodal transportation, cross-border transportation, and supply chain management solutions.