WBI (NYSE:WBI) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• WBI hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $36.51 before settling near $36.23, up about 2.8% on the day.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with several firms raising price targets and ratings; the stock now carries an average Moderate Buy rating and a $34.20 target price.
• Recent insider activity shows heavy selling: major shareholders sold more than 19.4 million shares over the last 90 days, even as the company continues to pay a small quarterly dividend.

WBI (NYSE:WBI - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $36.51 and last traded at $36.23, with a volume of 22632 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WBI shares. Barclays boosted their price target on WBI from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WBI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on WBI from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of WBI from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of WBI from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.20.

WBI Stock Up 2.8%

The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion and a P/E ratio of 146.26. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $31.53.

WBI (NYSE:WBI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $200.98 million during the quarter. Analysts predict that WBI will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WBI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. WBI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.00%.

Insider Activity at WBI

In other WBI news, major shareholder Waterbridge Resources Llc sold 5,894,826 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $177,139,521.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,980,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,526,676.05. This represents a 74.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Wbr Holdings Llc sold 5,894,826 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $177,139,521.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,980,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,526,676.05. The trade was a 74.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 19,439,652 shares of company stock worth $584,161,543 over the last 90 days. 50.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About WBI

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

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