Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40, FiscalAI reports. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Guidewire Software stock traded up $7.83 on Thursday, hitting $161.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,282,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,782,986. The firm has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.79 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.52. Guidewire Software has a one year low of $120.37 and a one year high of $272.60.

Guidewire Software announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 72,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,158,835.11. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $362,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,571,890. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,760 shares of company stock worth $7,978,508. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Guidewire Software

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,958 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,053 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,693 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,868 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 349.9% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 12,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 9,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter worth about $5,547,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GWRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.92.

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.