Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors increased its stake in Guidewire by 3.9% to 259,598 shares (≈$52.18M), representing about 0.31% of the company.
• Guidewire beat expectations for the quarter with $1.17 EPS vs. $0.77 consensus and revenue of $359.1M, up 24% year-over-year.
• The Board approved a $500 million share buyback (up to 3.1% of shares), while insiders have sold stock recently and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a ~$249.85 target.

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 259,598 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,799 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.31% of Guidewire Software worth $52,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 620.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter worth about $35,000.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $138.42 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $145.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.28. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.57 and a 52-week high of $272.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.92, a PEG ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The firm had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Guidewire Software's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,737 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $776,204.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,206 shares in the company, valued at $36,246,815.16. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 4,757 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.72, for a total value of $755,031.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 67,996 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,792,325.12. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 31,279 shares of company stock worth $4,841,198 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.85.

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.

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