Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $382.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $352.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 20.29% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WTW. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $359.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.33.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $317.57 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12-month low of $234.88 and a 12-month high of $334.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $308.51 and its 200-day moving average is $287.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 18.57% and a negative net margin of 7.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 29.9% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 274 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 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.