Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Given New $247.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) had its price target upped by Citigroup from $199.00 to $247.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on GWRE. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $231.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.00.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of GWRE stock traded up $1.95 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $255.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,585,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,001. Guidewire Software has a 12 month low of $126.54 and a 12 month high of $263.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 710.92, a PEG ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's fifty day moving average is $203.14 and its 200 day moving average is $195.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.41. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. The company had revenue of $293.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $286.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 6,116 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $1,158,431.56. Following the transaction, the president now owns 166,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,504,565.30. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.04, for a total value of $238,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,762,865.20. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,671 shares of company stock valued at $5,471,104. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,711,604 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,632,206,000 after buying an additional 256,070 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,157,195 shares of the technology company's stock worth $966,252,000 after buying an additional 720,322 shares during the period. Linonia Partnership LP raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 3,396,310 shares of the technology company's stock worth $636,333,000 after buying an additional 1,000,709 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,678,857 shares of the technology company's stock worth $451,602,000 after buying an additional 205,382 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,672,767 shares of the technology company's stock worth $313,410,000 after buying an additional 24,991 shares during the period.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software, Inc provides a platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers worldwide. The company offers Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud, such as PolicyCenter Cloud, BillingCenter Cloud, and ClaimCenter Cloud applications. It also provides Guidewire InsuranceNow, a cloud-based platform that offers policy, billing, and claims management functionality to insurers; and Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed.