Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Western Digital's stock reached a new 52-week high of $93.50 following an upgrade from Citigroup, which raised its price target from $88 to $110 and currently holds a buy rating on the stock.
• Several analysts have provided positive ratings for Western Digital, with one Strong Buy and seventeen Buy ratings overall, leading to an average price target of $80.50.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and initiated a $2 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock's value.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $110.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Western Digital traded as high as $93.50 and last traded at $93.29, with a volume of 8270469 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $92.04.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on WDC. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. 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 objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.50.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total transaction of $28,557.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,218,682.50. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 22,460 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 4,719 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $520,000. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Western Digital by 220.0% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 18,762 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 12,899 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Wellington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $845,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $32.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Western Digital

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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