Short Interest in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Decreases By 12.6%

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,197,813 shares, a drop of 12.6% from the January 15th total of 2,514,813 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 512,062 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 512,062 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $287.74 on Tuesday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52 week low of $275.60 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $27.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $322.74 and a 200-day moving average of $326.95.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 22.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,321,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2,804.5% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,141,000 after buying an additional 20,978 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 403,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,588,000 after acquiring an additional 92,822 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,357,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,108,000 after acquiring an additional 268,536 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 68,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,583,000 after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $303.00 to $318.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.57.

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.