Citigroup Upgrades Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) to Neutral

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) was upgraded by Citigroup from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Monday. The firm presently has a $34.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.39% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.15.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Werner Enterprises stock opened at $30.80 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.06. Werner Enterprises has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $38.45.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Werner Enterprises news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $49,980.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 57,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,740. This represents a 2.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WERN. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 289.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 42.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

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.