Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $61.99 and last traded at $61.96, with a volume of 1294262 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $60.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.79.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $48.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.49.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 approximately $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 104,657 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $6,241,000 after purchasing an additional 15,700 shares during the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 156,247 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $9,317,000 after purchasing an additional 27,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,336,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.