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

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $269.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $246.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.87, for a total value of $39,067.92. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total value of $362,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,571,890. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 51,558 shares of company stock worth $10,261,857 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 78,659 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,811,000 after acquiring an additional 26,912 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,110 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 12,514 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 20,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,040,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in Guidewire Software by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 56,748 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,407,000 after purchasing an additional 6,384 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $147.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.10. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 140.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.08. Guidewire Software has a 52 week low of $145.96 and a 52 week high of $272.60.

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

Guidewire Software announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.