Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 55% to 2,766,650 shares as of March 31 (2.9% of shares sold short), leaving a short-interest ratio of about 5.4 days based on average daily volume.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.77, though individual targets and ratings were recently mixed.
• Willis Towers Watson raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 (from $0.92), implying an annualized payout of $3.84 and a yield of about 1.3%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,766,650 shares, an increase of 55.0% from the March 15th total of 1,784,808 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 509,180 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $388.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $398.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $365.00 to $341.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.77.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW stock traded up $1.39 on Tuesday, reaching $289.33. The stock had a trading volume of 77,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,624. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50-day moving average is $295.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $316.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.62. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12 month low of $273.59 and a 12 month high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.13 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is currently 23.44%.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 102,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,821,000 after purchasing an additional 31,383 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 142,538 shares of the company's stock worth $46,838,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 103.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,581 shares of the company's stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,035 shares of the company's stock worth $2,314,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 502 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public NASDAQ: WTW is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company's core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.

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