Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.21.

WDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $44.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.37 and a 200-day moving average of $63.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Western Digital has a one year low of $39.42 and a one year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.