Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.95.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Securities lowered their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.74. 7,402,048 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,413,519. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $42.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $50,191,000 after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $23,305,000 after buying an additional 15,189 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Western Digital by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $5,930,000 after buying an additional 34,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.