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

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.42.

WDC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. BNP Paribas cut their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 151,296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $9,022,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 100,610 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,999,000 after acquiring an additional 61,702 shares during the period. Finally, Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $716,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.3 %

Western Digital stock opened at $71.29 on Friday. Western Digital has a one year low of $52.77 and a one year high of $81.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.70 and its 200 day moving average is $65.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.44. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.