Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Western Digital's stock reached a new 52-week high of $110.05 following an upgrade from Mizuho, which raised its price target from $87 to $120.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently increased their holdings in Western Digital, with significant purchases noted during the first quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.4%, with a dividend payout ratio of 7.77%.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $87.00 to $120.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Western Digital traded as high as $110.05 and last traded at $110.04, with a volume of 1863603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.63.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WDC. Zacks Research cut shares of Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Western Digital to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 52.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 9,974 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its position in Western Digital by 32.0% during the first quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 897,574 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $36,289,000 after buying an additional 217,574 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $35,406,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,834,000 after buying an additional 6,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,608,000 after acquiring an additional 5,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $38.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.69. The company's 50 day moving average price is $80.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.35.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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