Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE Shares Bought by Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,598 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,799 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $52,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,039,377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,077,791,000 after buying an additional 116,726 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,528 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,146,000 after buying an additional 202,064 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 982,747 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $225,894,000 after buying an additional 251,280 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 856,487 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $196,872,000 after buying an additional 75,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 784,524 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $180,331,000 after buying an additional 48,956 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, CAO David Franklin Peterson sold 273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $44,733.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,533 shares in the company, valued at $2,053,657.38. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,001 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $164,023.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,358,385.86. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 31,279 shares of company stock valued at $4,841,198 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Guidewire Software from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.85.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

GWRE opened at $138.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.93. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.57 and a 1-year high of $272.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.28.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.