Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Trading Up 7.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) rose 7.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $130.00 and last traded at $131.4670. Approximately 262,731 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,593,652 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWRE. DA Davidson raised shares of Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 5.4%

The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $164.23 and a 200-day moving average of $204.71.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $332.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, January 8th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of Guidewire Software 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 72,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,158,835.11. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.50, for a total transaction of $150,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,807,646.50. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 47,160 shares of company stock worth $8,917,644 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Guidewire Software during the third quarter worth $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000.

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.