WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: WisdomTree shares reached a new 52-week high of $18.18 (last $18.00) and were trading up roughly 4.2%, putting the stock above the consensus target price of $17.40.
• Strong quarterly results: the firm reported Q4 EPS of $0.29 versus $0.23 expected and revenue of $147.4M, up 33.2% year-over-year, with ROE of 30.24% and a net margin of 22.1%.
• Mixed analyst and ownership picture: four analysts rate the stock Buy and three rate it Hold for an overall Moderate Buy consensus; insiders recently sold shares while institutional ownership is high at 78.6%.

WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.18 and last traded at $18.0020, with a volume of 1157406 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WT. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of WisdomTree in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on WisdomTree from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on WisdomTree from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WisdomTree from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut WisdomTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.40.

WisdomTree Trading Up 4.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13 and a beta of 1.11.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 22.10%.The firm had revenue of $147.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. WisdomTree's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WisdomTree news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,140,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,201,725.80. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in WisdomTree by 163.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 1,679.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,206 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WisdomTree during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of WisdomTree during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WisdomTree during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree Investments, Inc NYSE: WT is a U.S.-based asset management firm specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Founded in 2006 by Jonathan Steinberg and headquartered in New York City, WisdomTree has developed a reputation for pioneering smart-beta and fundamentally weighted indexing approaches. The company designs strategies that seek to enhance returns and reduce volatility by weighting constituents based on dividends, earnings or other financial metrics rather than relying solely on market capitalization.

WisdomTree offers a broad suite of investment products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and digital assets.

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