Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Given New $398.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for Willis Towers Watson Public from $395.00 to $398.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.97% from the current stock price and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The company's board has authorized a $1.50 billion share buyback plan, suggesting that the leadership believes the stock is currently undervalued.
• Willis Towers Watson reported an EPS of $2.86 for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, while overall revenue saw a 0.2% decline year-over-year.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $395.00 to $398.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.97% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WTW. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $369.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded down $3.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $346.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,785. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 237.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public has a twelve month low of $287.05 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $332.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $318.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. The company's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at about $367,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 589 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 41.0% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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