Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40, FiscalAI reports. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

NYSE GWRE traded up $7.83 on Thursday, reaching $161.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,282,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,782,986. Guidewire Software has a twelve month low of $120.37 and a twelve month high of $272.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $156.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.52. The stock has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 153.93, a PEG ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 1.06.

Guidewire Software announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.87, for a total transaction of $39,067.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 72,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,158,835.11. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total value of $362,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,571,890. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 42,760 shares of company stock worth $7,978,508 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GWRE. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 26.4% during the third quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 781 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Guidewire Software by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 990 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter.

About Guidewire Software

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.