Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE Stock Holdings Increased by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Guidewire by 920.6% in Q4, purchasing 34,982 shares to hold 38,782 shares valued at about $7.8 million.
• Guidewire beat Q4 estimates with $1.17 EPS (vs. $0.77 est.) and $359.1M revenue (up 24% year-over-year), and its board authorized a $500 million share repurchase plan (~3.1% of shares outstanding).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $249.85, even as insiders sold roughly 30,295 shares (~$4.82M) in the past quarter.

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 920.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,782 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,982 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $7,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Guidewire Software by 3,636.9% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 731,467 shares of the technology company's stock worth $172,224,000 after buying an additional 711,893 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 405.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 538,303 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $126,743,000 after acquiring an additional 431,725 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the third quarter worth $51,967,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 18.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,528 shares of the technology company's stock worth $292,146,000 after acquiring an additional 202,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter worth $43,298,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GWRE. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $281.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research raised Guidewire Software from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Guidewire Software currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.85.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In related news, insider James Winston King sold 1,001 shares of the business's 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 $164,023.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,358,385.86. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO David Franklin Peterson sold 273 shares of the company's 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 $44,733.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,053,657.38. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,295 shares of company stock worth $4,819,906. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:GWRE opened at $144.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of 65.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 1.05. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.37 and a 1 year high of $272.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.50.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The business's revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

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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