WisdomTree Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:WT)

WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 24,274 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 3,464% compared to the average volume of 681 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of WisdomTree from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WisdomTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WisdomTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Northland Securities set a $20.00 target price on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of WisdomTree from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.45.

WisdomTree Stock Down 2.9%

WT stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $14.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,022,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,981,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.75. WisdomTree has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $17.68.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 22.10%.The business had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that WisdomTree will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. WisdomTree’s payout ratio is 16.00%.

Insider Transactions at WisdomTree

In related news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,140,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,201,725.80. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WisdomTree

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WT. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in WisdomTree in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of WisdomTree during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,752,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of WisdomTree by 216.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,017 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 26,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 7,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the 4th quarter valued at $611,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree Investments, Inc (NYSE: WT) is a U.S.-based asset management firm specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Founded in 2006 by Jonathan Steinberg and headquartered in New York City, WisdomTree has developed a reputation for pioneering smart-beta and fundamentally weighted indexing approaches. The company designs strategies that seek to enhance returns and reduce volatility by weighting constituents based on dividends, earnings or other financial metrics rather than relying solely on market capitalization.

WisdomTree offers a broad suite of investment products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and digital assets.