Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WERN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $33.15.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN opened at $31.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of -132.42, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Werner Enterprises has a 1-year low of $23.02 and a 1-year high of $38.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.99 and its 200-day moving average is $29.77.

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

Insider Transactions at Werner Enterprises

In related news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,428 shares of Werner Enterprises stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $49,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,740. This trade represents a 2.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 605.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,510,354 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $75,336,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154,428 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 539.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,670,737 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409,556 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at $34,201,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 572.4% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,297,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth $23,813,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

About Werner Enterprises

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.