As you might know, Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) last week released its latest quarterly, and things did not turn out so great for shareholders. Results showed a clear earnings miss, with US$769m revenue coming in 2.4% lower than what the analystsexpected. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.10 missed the mark badly, arriving some 62% below what was expected. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

Following last week's earnings report, Werner Enterprises' twelve analysts are forecasting 2024 revenues to be US$3.18b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to sink 16% to US$1.10 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$3.27b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.80 in 2024. From this we can that sentiment has definitely become more bearish after the latest results, leading to lower revenue forecasts and a large cut to earnings per share estimates.

It'll come as no surprise then, to learn that the analysts have cut their price target 5.6% to US$39.86. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Werner Enterprises analyst has a price target of US$57.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$31.00. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 1.8% annualised decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 8.1% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 7.9% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Werner Enterprises is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates underperformance compared to the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Werner Enterprises' future valuation.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Werner Enterprises going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Even so, be aware that Werner Enterprises is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.