UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Downgrades Werner Enterprises to Hold, Reiterates $25 PT on Continued Growth Headwinds

In a report published Wednesday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Chaz Jones downgraded the rating on

from Buy to Hold, but reiterated the $25.00 price target. In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “Werner Enterprises (WERN) faces its last tough comp of the year in 2Q13, and we anticipate negative EPS growth for the 4th consecutive quarter. This streak began in 3Q12 when a number of unanticipated cost headwinds broke a 9-quarter streak of double-digit EPS growth. While we expect Werner to revert to positive yr/yr EPS trends in 3Q13, a soft pricing environment, challenging driver market, and utilization headwinds (HOS impact in 2H13) should limit revenue growth. Moreover, with the company unlikely to pursue fleet expansion until FY14 at the earliest, we expect total revenue to grow in the low single-digit range. This combination of factors has dampened our enthusiasm for the story, and as a result we are downgrading our rating from Buy to Hold. Our price target remains $25.” Werner Enterprises closed on Tuesday at $24.00.