StockNews.com Upgrades Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) to “Hold”

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WERN. Barclays decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.29.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of WERN traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $35.35. 962,733 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 761,535. The company has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 64.27, a PEG ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.49. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $42.48.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.15). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 2.26% and a net margin of 1.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 54,222 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 2,340 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,730,457 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $241,758,000 after acquiring an additional 32,228 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 13,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 55,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 3,938 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.