Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Stock

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 26.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WERN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $38.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $39.15.

Werner Enterprises Stock Up 0.3%

Werner Enterprises stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $43.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 55,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,769. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -288.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.26. Werner Enterprises has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $45.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.05. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 0.28%.The firm had revenue of $730.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Werner Enterprises by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 86.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,614 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one?truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.