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

Key Points

• Analysts assign Guidewire a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 16 analysts (1 sell, 3 hold, 11 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of about $249.85.
• Guidewire beat expectations last quarter with EPS of $1.17 and revenue of $359.1M (revenue +24% YoY), and its Board approved a $500 million share buyback (~3.1% of outstanding shares).
• Insiders have been sellers recently—including the President and CEO—totaling 31,895 shares (~$5.2M) sold in the past three months, leaving insiders owning 0.46% of the company.

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $249.8462.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GWRE. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Guidewire Software from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, President John P. Mullen sold 6,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $1,077,543.36. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 135,407 shares in the company, valued at $22,187,791.02. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 stock was sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $776,204.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,246,815.16. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,895 shares of company stock valued at $5,201,172. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GWRE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,694 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,735,000 after buying an additional 18,774 shares during the last quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,287,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 901.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 9,110 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 520,390 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $119,617,000 after acquiring an additional 17,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,967,000.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWRE opened at $155.55 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $148.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.06. The company has a market cap of $13.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.71, a PEG ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 2.93. Guidewire Software has a one year low of $120.37 and a one year high of $272.60.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.Guidewire Software's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.