BTIG Research Cuts Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Price Target to $175.00

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) had its price target reduced by BTIG Research from $225.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 43.17% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on GWRE. DA Davidson raised Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.77.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $122.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.42, a P/E/G ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $170.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48. Guidewire Software has a 1-year low of $120.37 and a 1-year high of $272.60.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business had revenue of $332.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $362,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,702 shares in the company, valued at $6,571,890. The trade was a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 7,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $1,531,838.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 141,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,272,094.64. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,960 shares of company stock worth $8,767,044. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 4.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Guidewire Software by 5.4% during the third quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 989 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Guidewire Software by 9.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 911 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.9% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,632 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period.

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.