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

Key Points

• Western Digital Corporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 23 research firms, with 17 analysts recommending buying the stock and 6 recommending a hold.
• The average price target for Western Digital shares is approximately $91.47, with significant adjustments from firms like UBS and Rosenblatt increasing their targets to ranges between $75.00 and $125.00.
• Western Digital recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10, reflecting an annual yield of 0.3% with a payout ratio of 7.77%.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.4737.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $239,148.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,460.80. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 102.5% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 86.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, CNB Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $131.31 on Friday. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $137.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.77.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

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.

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