Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $249.8462.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE GWRE opened at $140.15 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.42. Guidewire Software has a twelve month low of $115.57 and a twelve month high of $272.60. The company has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.70, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.05.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The company’s revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,737 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $776,204.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,246,815.16. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 6,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $1,077,543.36. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 135,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,187,791.02. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,279 shares of company stock valued at $4,887,686. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Guidewire Software by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 13,709 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 5,104 shares during the last quarter. DUTCH ASSET Corp bought a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter worth $570,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,820 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,177,000 after acquiring an additional 2,915 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 471.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 497 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000.

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.