Mizuho Initiates Coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW)

Stock analysts at Mizuho started coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $386.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.03% from the stock’s previous close.

WTW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $303.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.23.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.0%

WTW opened at $329.84 on Tuesday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12 month low of $292.97 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The company has a market cap of $31.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $324.01 and a 200 day moving average of $321.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 21.58%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 8,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 83 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth $31,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.