UBS Group Lowers Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target to $25.00

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target reduced by analysts at UBS Group from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 3.36% from the company’s previous close.

WERN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $26.93.

Werner Enterprises Stock Performance

WERN stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.87. 338,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 959,137. Werner Enterprises has a 1-year low of $23.02 and a 1-year high of $42.48. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $27.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.04.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.18). Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 0.92% and a net margin of 1.77%.The firm had revenue of $771.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Werner Enterprises by 1,642.2% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 620,855 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,191,000 after acquiring an additional 585,218 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,972,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 17.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,893,705 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $79,172,000 after purchasing an additional 424,935 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the first quarter worth approximately $9,102,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 49.1% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 704,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,283,000 after purchasing an additional 232,149 shares during the period. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.