WBI (NYSE:WBI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate WBI “Moderate Buy.” Four analysts recommend buying, one gives a strong-buy rating, and two recommend holding; the average 12-month price target is $36.71 versus a recent price of $31.61.
• Insiders have sold heavily. Company insiders sold 19.4 million shares worth approximately $584.2 million over the past three months, though insiders still own 50.61% of the stock.
• WBI reported quarterly revenue of $217.77 million and earnings of $0.10 per share. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, equal to a 0.6% annual yield.

Shares of WBI (NYSE:WBI - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.7143.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WBI. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on WBI from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of WBI in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on WBI from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WBI from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised WBI from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David N. Capobianco sold 5,894,826 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $177,139,521.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,980,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,526,676.05. This trade represents a 74.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Energy Corp/De Devon sold 1,755,174 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $52,742,978.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,439,652 shares of company stock worth $584,161,543. Company insiders own 50.61% of the company's stock.

WBI Stock Performance

WBI opened at $31.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion and a PE ratio of 395.12. WBI has a twelve month low of $18.64 and a twelve month high of $36.89. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $32.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

WBI (NYSE:WBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. WBI had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 0.85%. The company had revenue of $217.77 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WBI will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WBI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. WBI's payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

About WBI

WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC is an integrated, pure-play water infrastructure company. WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC is based in HOUSTON.

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