Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives $520.32 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $536.96.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho set a $590.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 target price on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $451.52 on Friday. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $73.14 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $567.55 and its 200-day moving average is $417.23. The company has a market cap of $155.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 50.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.58%.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported adjusted earnings of $3.56 per share, above the $3.31 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, also exceeding forecasts. Western Digital Q4 Earnings Beat as Revenue Jumps 44% on Cloud Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited strong cloud and AI-related storage demand, pricing gains and adoption of higher-capacity products. The company said some AI customers are negotiating storage capacity commitments through 2031, providing long-term demand visibility. Western Digital Says AI Customers Are Already Negotiating Storage Deals Through 2031
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue guidance of $4.0 billion to $4.2 billion and adjusted EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 were above consensus estimates. Several analysts maintained bullish views, including Baird, which raised its price target to $630. Western Digital Earns Buy Rating as Analyst Lifts Price Target to $630

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total value of $427,941.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,093 shares of company stock valued at $2,751,337 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Western Digital by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $456,884,000 after acquiring an additional 384,103 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $512,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228,661 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,809,409 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $483,977,000 after purchasing an additional 159,167 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.

Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.