Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Stock Price

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $362.00 to $356.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.89% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on WTW. Wolfe Research raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.67.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $326.93. 702,455 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 636,250. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $321.14. The stock has a market cap of $31.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.63. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1-year low of $292.97 and a 1-year high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 21.58%.Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 76.4% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the second quarter valued at $9,570,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 87.6% in the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT now owns 257,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,810,000 after purchasing an additional 26,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $391,837,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.