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

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $52.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 39.04% from the company’s previous close.

WERN has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “negative” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WERN traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.40. 819,622 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 747,978. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.74. Werner Enterprises has a 12 month low of $33.12 and a 12 month high of $43.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.69.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.07). Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 4.70%. The company had revenue of $745.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Werner Enterprises will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WERN. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,948,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $115,347,000 after buying an additional 680,194 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,665,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,668,000 after purchasing an additional 450,522 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 65.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 879,371 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,455,000 after purchasing an additional 348,154 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,506,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,984,000 after purchasing an additional 201,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,000,000. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

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.