WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• WisdomTree shares hit a new 52-week high of $23.40, above the analyst consensus price target of $20.66. Despite the rally, coverage remains cautious, with two Buy ratings and four Holds.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting $0.31 EPS versus the $0.26 estimate and revenue of $177.16 million, up 57.3% year over year.
• WisdomTree declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03, equivalent to a 0.5% annualized yield. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the stock, with several major firms recently increasing their positions.

Shares of WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $23.40 and last traded at $23.1540, with a volume of 54850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 target price on WisdomTree in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut WisdomTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on WisdomTree in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of WisdomTree from $16.40 to $18.30 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WisdomTree has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.66.

WisdomTree Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.51 and a 200-day moving average of $17.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 44.90 and a beta of 1.17.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 39.12% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm had revenue of $177.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 57.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. WisdomTree's payout ratio is presently 23.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WisdomTree

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WisdomTree by 101.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,009,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,259,000 after buying an additional 1,013,658 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in WisdomTree by 556.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,327,389 shares of the company's stock worth $33,887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972,847 shares during the period. Capital Management Corp VA raised its position in WisdomTree by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 561,886 shares of the company's stock worth $6,849,000 after acquiring an additional 291,851 shares in the last quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new position in WisdomTree in the fourth quarter worth $1,298,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in WisdomTree by 654.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,133,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,814,000 after acquiring an additional 983,070 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WisdomTree Company Profile

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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