Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the transportation company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price would indicate a potential downside of 5.71% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WERN. Susquehanna raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a "negative" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Werner Enterprises from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 1.1 %

Werner Enterprises stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 380,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,275. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Werner Enterprises has a fifty-two week low of $33.12 and a fifty-two week high of $42.48. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.85, a P/E/G ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.55.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $745.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $765.24 million. Werner Enterprises had a return on equity of 3.58% and a net margin of 1.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Werner Enterprises will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Werner Enterprises by 2,390.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 43.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company's stock.

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.