Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,766,650 shares, an increase of 55.0% from the March 15th total of 1,784,808 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 509,180 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $288.48 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.72. The company has a market cap of $27.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52 week low of $273.59 and a 52 week high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 23.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.8% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 919 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,853,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 3,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $379.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $388.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.29.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.