WBI (NYSE:WBI) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Broker sentiment is positive: WBI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from five analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $33.20.
• The stock moved higher: Shares of WBI were up 2.2% and opened at $34.81, near the top of its 12-month range of $18.64 to $36.21.
• Insider selling has been heavy: Recent SEC filings show major shareholders and a director sold large blocks of stock, with insiders selling 19.4 million shares worth about $584.2 million over the last 90 days.

WBI (NYSE:WBI - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.20.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WBI from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of WBI from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WBI from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group set a $33.00 target price on shares of WBI in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of WBI from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

WBI Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE WBI opened at $34.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion and a P/E ratio of 139.25. WBI has a 12-month low of $18.64 and a 12-month high of $36.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.61.

WBI (NYSE:WBI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $200.98 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WBI will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WBI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. WBI's dividend payout ratio is 80.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WBI news, major shareholder Energy Corp/De Devon sold 1,755,174 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $52,742,978.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David N. Capobianco sold 5,894,826 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $177,139,521.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,980,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,526,676.05. This trade represents a 74.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,439,652 shares of company stock valued at $584,161,543. 50.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WBI Company Profile

WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC is an integrated, pure-play water infrastructure company. WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC is based in HOUSTON.

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.