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

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $259.7692.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GWRE shares. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson raised shares of Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $281.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $122.00 on Tuesday. Guidewire Software has a 12 month low of $120.37 and a 12 month high of $272.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.71. The firm has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 116.19, a P/E/G ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was 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 represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $362,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,571,890. This represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 47,160 shares of company stock worth $8,917,644 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,039,377 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,077,791,000 after purchasing an additional 116,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Guidewire Software by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,201 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $357,504,000 after acquiring an additional 145,924 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,445,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $290,501,000 after acquiring an additional 405,850 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,316,817 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $264,693,000 after acquiring an additional 45,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,405,000.

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.