UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Price

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at UBS Group from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential downside of 4.58% from the stock’s previous close.

WERN has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Susquehanna dropped their price target 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, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $26.93.

Werner Enterprises Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Werner Enterprises stock opened at $26.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.04. Werner Enterprises has a 1-year low of $23.02 and a 1-year high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $712.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $763.63 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.92% and a net margin of 1.77%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the 1st quarter valued at about $265,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $9,026,000 after purchasing an additional 8,080 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 4,461 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.