Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for GWRE Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered Guidewire’s Q1 fiscal 2027 EPS forecast to $0.26 from $0.37, while projecting full-year fiscal 2027 EPS of $1.98.
• Guidewire recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.99 EPS versus the $0.93 consensus and revenue of $411.09 million versus $402.61 million; revenue increased 15.3% year over year.
• Despite the estimate cut, analyst sentiment remains positive: 12 analysts rate the stock a Buy and four rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $216.23.

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Guidewire Software in a report released on Thursday, September 24th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the technology company will post earnings of $0.26 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.37. The consensus estimate for Guidewire Software's current full-year earnings is $2.46 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Guidewire Software's Q2 2027 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.80 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.98 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.63 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $0.73 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $0.81 EPS, Q4 2028 earnings at $1.00 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $3.18 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $4.36 EPS.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The technology company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $411.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $402.61 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 9.44%.Guidewire Software's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $222.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Guidewire Software from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.23.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $144.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.84 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Guidewire Software has a fifty-two week low of $102.30 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.05.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other news, CEO Michael Rosenbaum sold 72,290 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.47, for a total transaction of $10,443,736.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 280,866 shares in the company, valued at $40,576,711.02. The trade was a 20.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jeffrey Cooper sold 23,234 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.47, for a total transaction of $3,356,615.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,776,803.67. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 192,032 shares of company stock worth $28,623,576 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Guidewire Software during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,106,768,000. Linonia Partnership LP acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the second quarter worth $853,165,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,201 shares of the technology company's stock worth $357,504,000 after acquiring an additional 145,924 shares in the last quarter. Route One Investment Company L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter valued at $227,564,000. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter valued at $202,405,000.

Key Stories Impacting Guidewire Software

Here are the key news stories impacting Guidewire Software this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term earnings outlook improved: Zacks Research raised its fiscal 2028 EPS forecast to $3.18 from $2.64 and introduced a fiscal 2029 estimate of $4.36. The firm also increased estimates for fiscal 2028’s second, third and fourth quarters to $0.73, $0.81 and $1.00, respectively.
• Positive Sentiment: Some fiscal 2027 and 2028 quarterly estimates increased: The Q3 fiscal 2027 EPS forecast rose to $0.48 from $0.45, while the Q4 estimate increased to $0.80 from $0.69. Q1 fiscal 2028 EPS was raised modestly to $0.63 from $0.61.
• Neutral Sentiment: Current-year expectations remain unchanged: Zacks reiterated the consensus estimate of $2.46 EPS for Guidewire’s current fiscal year. The revisions primarily affect future periods rather than the company’s immediate earnings outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term forecasts were cut: Zacks reduced Q1 fiscal 2027 EPS to $0.26 from $0.37 and Q2 fiscal 2027 EPS to $0.44 from $0.55. The combined reductions contributed to a lower fiscal 2027 EPS forecast of $1.98, down from $2.06.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation leaves limited room for disappointment: Guidewire trades at a high earnings multiple, with a reported price-to-earnings ratio of about 88.8. Near-term estimate cuts can therefore pressure the stock even when analysts expect stronger earnings growth in later years.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software, Inc NYSE: GWRE provides cloud-based software and technology services for the property and casualty insurance industry. Its solutions help insurers manage core operations, modernize legacy systems, improve customer engagement and use data to support underwriting and claims decisions.

The company's principal platform, InsuranceSuite, includes applications such as PolicyCenter for policy administration, BillingCenter for billing and payments, and ClaimCenter for claims management.

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