Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: WTW) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from thirteen analysts, with price targets varying from $305.00 to $400.00.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share and initiated a buyback program to repurchase up to $1.50 billion in shares, which is viewed as a signal of stock undervaluation.
• For the latest quarter, Willis Towers Watson reported an EPS of $2.86, beating expectations, though revenues showed a slight decline of 0.2% compared to the same period last year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $362.9167.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTW. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, September 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WTW. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $341.89 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 234.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12 month low of $286.35 and a 12 month high of $345.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company's 50-day moving average price is $327.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $317.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is 252.05%.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.

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