Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C) Rating for Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "hold (C)" rating for Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW), while other brokerages like Evercore ISI and UBS Group have issued higher target prices and upgraded their ratings for the stock.
• Willis Towers Watson Public's stock recently traded down by 1.1%, reaching $346.19, and the company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.86, which beat analyst expectations.
• The company has initiated a $1.50 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating that its board believes the stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reissued by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WTW. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $395.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.1%

WTW traded down $3.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $346.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,785. The stock has a market cap of $33.77 billion, a PE ratio of 237.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $287.05 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The business's 50-day moving average is $332.88 and its 200-day moving average is $318.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at $367,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 589 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 41.0% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the company's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.

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