TCW Group Inc. Sells 22,958 Shares of WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in WillScot Holdings Corporation by 49.4%, selling 22,958 shares and now owning 23,478 shares worth approximately $653,000.
• Barclays and Morgan Stanley have differing outlooks on WillScot, with Barclays lowering its price target from $40.00 to $34.00, while Morgan Stanley increased its target from $38.00 to $39.00.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed a revenue decline of 4.7% year-over-year, with an EPS of $0.24, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28.

TCW Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC - Free Report) by 49.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,478 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,958 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in WillScot were worth $653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in WillScot in the first quarter valued at approximately $145,392,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in WillScot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,734,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in WillScot by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,314,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,020,000 after buying an additional 2,639,559 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in WillScot by 747.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,820,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,890,000 after buying an additional 1,605,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in WillScot by 1,246.2% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,229,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,117,000 after buying an additional 1,137,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.81% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bradley Lee Soultz acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.79 per share, for a total transaction of $267,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 128,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,451,007.43. This trade represents a 8.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.19 per share, for a total transaction of $261,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 15,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $402,906.96. The trade was a 185.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WSC shares. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of WillScot in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of WillScot from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of WillScot from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.63.

WillScot Stock Down 12.8%

WSC traded down $3.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.59. 6,441,515 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,654,292. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 285.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.24. WillScot Holdings Corporation has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $42.15. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $28.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83.

WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $589.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.07 million. WillScot had a return on equity of 26.28% and a net margin of 0.63%. WillScot's quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that WillScot Holdings Corporation will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

WillScot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. WillScot's payout ratio is 311.11%.

WillScot Company Profile

WillScot Holdings Corporation provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers.