Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Price Target Lowered to $52.00 at Morgan Stanley

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $52.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the transportation company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 39.41% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna raised their price target on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "negative" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup started coverage on Werner Enterprises in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "sell" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,619,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,787. The business's 50 day moving average price is $37.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.75. Werner Enterprises has a 1 year low of $33.12 and a 1 year high of $43.26. The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 4.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 327,948 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $12,829,000 after purchasing an additional 84,800 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1,048.4% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 91,312 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,572,000 after acquiring an additional 83,361 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 65.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 879,371 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,455,000 after acquiring an additional 348,154 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Werner Enterprises by 542.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 32,963 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 27,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 252,504 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,047,000 after acquiring an additional 32,503 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.