Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Western Digital's stock price reached a new 52-week high of $79.62, showing significant trading volumes and marking a notable gain from a previous close of $76.97.
• A variety of analysts have increased their price targets on Western Digital, with Rosenblatt Securities and TD Cowen offering the highest at $90.00 and 17 analysts rating the stock as a Buy.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, expecting to yield 0.5%, alongside a share buyback plan authorizing repurchases of up to $2 billion, signifying confidence in the stock's valuation.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $79.57 and last traded at $79.62, with a volume of 1389762 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.83. 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 market cap of $27.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $426,827.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 154,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,795,820.54. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 594,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,139 shares of company stock worth $1,485,812. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after purchasing an additional 478,728 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $593,045,000 after acquiring an additional 186,030 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Western Digital by 8.5% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,535,972 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $354,247,000 after buying an additional 431,419 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in Western Digital by 130.0% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $203,337,000 after buying an additional 2,842,822 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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