Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target Raised to $377.00

Key Points

• Willis Towers Watson Public's price target was raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $358.00 to $377.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.03%.
• The company's board has initiated a share buyback plan allowing repurchase of $1.50 billion in outstanding shares, reflecting confidence in the stock's valuation.
• Currently, Willis Towers Watson Public holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $364.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $358.00 to $377.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.03% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WTW. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $364.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $342.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 233.97, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $328.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $318.05. Willis Towers Watson Public has a one year low of $286.35 and a one year high of $345.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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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