Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Guidewire a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 16 brokerages (1 sell, 3 hold, 11 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year target of about $249.85.
• Guidewire beat quarterly estimates, reporting $1.17 EPS vs. $0.77 expected and $359.1M revenue (up 24% year‑over‑year), signaling stronger-than-expected growth.
• The Board approved a $500 million share buyback (up to ~3.1% of shares) while shares trade near $125, far below recent analyst targets and the 12‑month high of $272.60.

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $249.8462.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWRE shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Guidewire Software from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 0.8%

Guidewire Software stock opened at $125.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.77 and a 200 day moving average of $184.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.05. Guidewire Software has a 12-month low of $115.57 and a 12-month high of $272.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 14.11% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The company's revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Guidewire Software announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In related news, 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 owned 12,533 shares in the company, valued at $2,053,657.38. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 6,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $1,077,543.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 135,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,187,791.02. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 31,279 shares of company stock valued at $4,887,686 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 703.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 36,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,220,000 after acquiring an additional 31,598 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter valued at about $305,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,024 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,911 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.