Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $269.50.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $246.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Guidewire Software news, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total value of $362,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,571,890. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total value of $551,653.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,252,528.08. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,558 shares of company stock worth $10,261,857. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 3,636.9% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 731,467 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $172,224,000 after buying an additional 711,893 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 240.0% during the second quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 850,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $200,132,000 after acquiring an additional 600,000 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 405.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 538,303 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,743,000 after acquiring an additional 431,725 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 4,507.8% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 318,675 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,057,000 after acquiring an additional 311,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 112.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 479,859 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $90,036,000 after acquiring an additional 254,142 shares during the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Stock Down 9.4%

NYSE:GWRE opened at $147.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.46, a PEG ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.08. Guidewire Software has a 1-year low of $145.96 and a 1-year high of $272.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $191.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $332.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.62 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Guidewire Software declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.