WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WT. Northland Securities set a $22.00 target price on shares of WisdomTree in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered WisdomTree from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut WisdomTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on WisdomTree in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on WisdomTree from $18.00 to $20.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WisdomTree currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.06.

WisdomTree Stock Down 1.6%

WT stock opened at $19.40 on Monday. WisdomTree has a twelve month low of $10.69 and a twelve month high of $21.23. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.32 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.07.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. WisdomTree had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 33.31%. The firm had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 47.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that WisdomTree will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WisdomTree news, insider David M. Yates sold 15,000 shares of WisdomTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total value of $270,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 157,499 shares in the company, valued at $2,844,431.94. The trade was a 8.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.99, for a total value of $569,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,110,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,083,552.55. This trade represents a 2.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 10.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WisdomTree

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of WisdomTree by 2.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 456,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,076,000 after acquiring an additional 12,402 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in WisdomTree by 379.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 880,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,858,000 after purchasing an additional 697,156 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in WisdomTree by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 301,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 78,837 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in WisdomTree by 722.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 93,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 81,725 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in WisdomTree by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 482,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,551,000 after purchasing an additional 80,361 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WisdomTree Company Profile

WisdomTree Investments, Inc (NYSE: WT) is a U.S.-based asset management firm specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Founded in 2006 by Jonathan Steinberg and headquartered in New York City, WisdomTree has developed a reputation for pioneering smart-beta and fundamentally weighted indexing approaches. The company designs strategies that seek to enhance returns and reduce volatility by weighting constituents based on dividends, earnings or other financial metrics rather than relying solely on market capitalization.

WisdomTree offers a broad suite of investment products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and digital assets.