Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading 1.7% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Western Digital shares rose 1.7% to $423.87, despite trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $485.31 and $456.14, respectively.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $534.56, although several firms recently lowered targets or ratings.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.56 in EPS and $3.75 billion in revenue, up 43.8% year over year; it also declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend while insiders sold shares worth about $11.5 million over the past 90 days.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $433.20 and last traded at $423.87. 6,658,993 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 8,568,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $416.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WDC. Mizuho set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $146.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 2.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $485.31 and a 200-day moving average of $456.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $788,729,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $885,565,000. Finally, Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth $350,403,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC develops, manufactures and sells data storage products and solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises, businesses and consumers. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity enterprise drives used in cloud and data center environments, as well as products for network-attached storage, surveillance and personal computing.

The company markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK and Ultrastar.

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