Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock Price

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential downside of 7.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on WERN. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded Werner Enterprises from a “negative” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.50.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

NASDAQ WERN traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $37.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 137,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 679,690. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $33.12 and a 1 year high of $42.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.62, a PEG ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.55.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $745.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.48% and a return on equity of 3.58%. Werner Enterprises’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the third quarter valued at about $485,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 4.8% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 362,786 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,637 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 31.1% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 84,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,245,000 after buying an additional 19,944 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 19.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 98,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,803,000 after buying an additional 16,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

About Werner Enterprises

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.