Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Given Buy Rating at DA Davidson

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at DA Davidson in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $246.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price suggests a potential upside of 56.12% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on GWRE. Citigroup raised their price objective on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.85.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of GWRE traded down $5.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $157.57. The company had a trading volume of 405,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,817,178. Guidewire Software has a fifty-two week low of $120.37 and a fifty-two week high of $272.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.38. The stock has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.40. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The business had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $362,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,702 shares in the company, valued at $6,571,890. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $551,653.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,252,528.08. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,560 shares of company stock valued at $7,882,898. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Guidewire Software by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,820 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,177,000 after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 471.3% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 497 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. Avory & Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Avory & Company LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,528 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,719,000 after acquiring an additional 2,313 shares during the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

Guidewire Software, Inc develops software products and cloud services for property and casualty (P&C) insurance carriers. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company’s offerings are designed to help insurers manage the core functions of their business—policy administration, billing and claims—while supporting digital engagement, analytics and operational modernization.

Guidewire’s core product portfolio is commonly known as the InsuranceSuite, which includes PolicyCenter for policy administration, BillingCenter for billing and receivables, and ClaimCenter for claims management.