Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Short Interest Update

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,980,069 shares, a growth of 48.5% from the January 29th total of 2,680,583 shares. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,040,990 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,040,990 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of Guidewire Software stock traded up $1.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $145.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,042,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,734. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48. Guidewire Software has a one year low of $120.37 and a one year high of $272.60. The firm has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a PE ratio of 138.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.74.

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

Guidewire Software announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Guidewire Software news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.87, for a total value of $39,067.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 72,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,158,835.11. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $362,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,571,890. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 47,160 shares of company stock worth $8,917,644 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Guidewire Software by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,039,377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,077,791,000 after purchasing an additional 116,726 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,201 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $357,504,000 after buying an additional 145,924 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,445,206 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $290,501,000 after buying an additional 405,850 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,316,817 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $264,693,000 after buying an additional 45,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter worth about $202,405,000.

About Guidewire Software

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.