Zacks Research Upgrades WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) to Strong-Buy

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

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price target on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of WisdomTree from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $16.75 target price on WisdomTree in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised WisdomTree from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WisdomTree in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WisdomTree presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.65.

WisdomTree Price Performance

WisdomTree stock opened at $17.37 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.75. WisdomTree has a 1 year low of $7.47 and a 1 year high of $17.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 1.09.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.78 million. WisdomTree had a net margin of 22.10% and a return on equity of 30.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WisdomTree will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at WisdomTree

In other WisdomTree news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of WisdomTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,140,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,201,725.80. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David M. Yates sold 6,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.12, for a total value of $75,838.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 152,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,607.76. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WisdomTree

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in WisdomTree by 163.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in WisdomTree by 1,679.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WisdomTree in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of WisdomTree in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WisdomTree during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.