Brokerages Set Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target at $64.95

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.84.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays set a $50.00 price target on shares of Western Digital and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of WDC stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,739,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,414,279. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $42.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.36. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.49.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.