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

Key Points

• Guidewire Software currently has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 12 buy ratings and 3 hold ratings among 15 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $221.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.82 versus estimates of $0.74 and revenue of $372.54 million versus $355.92 million expected. Revenue also rose 26.9% year over year.
• Several insiders, including the president and CEO, sold shares in June, though the sales were tied to tax withholding and a pre-arranged trading plan. Meanwhile, institutional investors such as Capital World Investors and Principal Financial Group sharply increased their stakes.

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $221.00.

A number of research firms have commented on GWRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $258.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $246.00 to $222.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 4,292 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total transaction of $509,632.08. Following the sale, the president owned 131,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,568,595.10. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 5,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total value of $692,254.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 199,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,721,402.24. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,193 shares of company stock valued at $3,792,858. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,405,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 997,992 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 431,725 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 405,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 403,370 shares during the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

NYSE GWRE opened at $131.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.99 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50 day moving average is $132.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.71. Guidewire Software has a 12-month low of $102.30 and a 12-month high of $272.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The technology company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.08. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 11.25%.The business had revenue of $372.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $355.92 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Guidewire Software will post 1.83 EPS for the current 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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