Citigroup Initiates Coverage on Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN)

Stock analysts at Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “sell” rating and a $34.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 4.60% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WERN. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “negative” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.57.

Werner Enterprises Stock Down 2.0 %

WERN opened at $35.64 on Wednesday. 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 has a 1-year low of $33.12 and a 1-year high of $43.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.83.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $760.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.81 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 4.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 390.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 740 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Werner Enterprises during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 145.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 475 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.