Werner Enterprises’ (WERN) Sell Rating Reaffirmed at Citigroup

Citigroup reissued their sell rating on shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has a $34.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WERN. Evercore upped their target price on Werner Enterprises from $20.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $32.57.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 8.2%

NASDAQ WERN opened at $34.76 on Friday. Werner Enterprises has a 52 week low of $23.02 and a 52 week high of $38.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of -144.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.08.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $737.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.51 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.Werner Enterprises’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Monday, January 5th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is 136.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Werner Enterprises by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,464 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 126,854 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 6.9% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 0.8% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 64,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Werner Enterprises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $39 and set an “equal weight” rating, signaling conviction in near‑term upside tied to execution and the company’s strategy. Wells Fargo raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its target to $39 and kept a “hold” rating, another vote that the stock has upside if integration and dedicated business growth play out. TD Cowen raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: Company commentary and the Business Wire release highlight growth in dedicated revenue and the strategic rationale for the FirstFleet acquisition, which management says should support longer‑term stable revenue. Company Q4 release
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings call transcript is available for investors seeking detail on guidance, cost trends and fleet/dedicated integration plans — useful for assessing execution risk. Earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage notes the FirstFleet buy is a strategic bet that could spark consolidation in dedicated trucking; outcome depends on scale and margin improvements. FirstFleet M&A context
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target to $28 and moved to “underweight” — the most bearish broker action today and a major contributor to selling pressure. JPMorgan cuts PT
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating with a $34 target, keeping downside risk from some institutional desks.
• Negative Sentiment: Werner missed Q4 estimates: $0.05 EPS vs. $0.09 expected and revenue of ~$737.6M vs. $767.5M consensus — disappointing results that directly pressure the stock. Earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: News that a long‑running drivers’ lawsuit has a settlement ready raises potential cash/legal overhang and investor concern about contingency costs. Lawsuit settlement

About Werner Enterprises

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.