Susquehanna downgrades Werner to Negative on estimate risk

Susquehanna downgraded Werner Enterprises (WERN) to Negative from Neutral with a price target of $27, down from $32. While Werner’s cyclical challenges during the truckload market’s two-year downturn are not unique, the company’s “less explicit” earnings guidance strategy leaves the sell-side consensus numbers “more cyclically stale” than that of peer Schneider National (SNDR), the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that if it is right on the magnitude of earnings risk across truckload carriers, Werner shares will be a “relative underperformer at best until estimates reach more realistic levels.”