Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment remains positive for Guidewire Software, with 14 analysts giving the stock an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 12-month price target of $251.50.
• Recent earnings were strong: Guidewire reported $1.17 EPS versus the $0.77 estimate and revenue of $359.1 million, topping expectations and rising 24% year over year.
• Insider and market activity were mixed, as both the CFO and CEO sold shares recently while several institutional investors significantly increased their positions; the stock was also down 4.4% in Thursday trading.

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $251.50.

GWRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research cut Guidewire Software from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $246.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 4,757 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.72, for a total value of $755,031.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,325.12. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,737 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $776,204.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 221,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,246,815.16. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,679 shares of company stock worth $5,214,878. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,405,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 547.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,180,334 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $176,537,000 after buying an additional 997,992 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 405.1% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 538,303 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $126,743,000 after buying an additional 431,725 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,445,206 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $290,501,000 after buying an additional 405,850 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 179.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 628,759 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $94,037,000 after buying an additional 403,370 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Stock Down 4.4%

NYSE GWRE opened at $155.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a PE ratio of 70.74 and a beta of 0.93. Guidewire Software has a fifty-two week low of $115.57 and a fifty-two week high of $272.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $140.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.58. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Guidewire Software will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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