BTIG Research Cuts Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Price Target to $175.00

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) had its price objective trimmed by BTIG Research from $225.00 to $175.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on GWRE. DA Davidson raised shares of Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $281.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Guidewire Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.77.

Guidewire Software Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $127.54 on Wednesday. Guidewire Software has a 1-year low of $120.37 and a 1-year high of $272.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $165.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48. The company has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.06.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 7.23%.The company had revenue of $332.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.62 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Guidewire Software will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.87, for a total value of $39,067.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 72,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,158,835.11. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.00, for a total transaction of $152,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,743 shares in the company, valued at $29,304,361. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 45,960 shares of company stock worth $8,767,044 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the first quarter worth about $25,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,405,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,243 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Guidewire Software by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,719 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 1.6% during the second quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,421 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

Guidewire Software, Inc develops software products and cloud services for property and casualty (P&C) insurance carriers. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company’s offerings are designed to help insurers manage the core functions of their business—policy administration, billing and claims—while supporting digital engagement, analytics and operational modernization.

Guidewire’s core product portfolio is commonly known as the InsuranceSuite, which includes PolicyCenter for policy administration, BillingCenter for billing and receivables, and ClaimCenter for claims management.