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

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.21.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,531,876,000 after buying an additional 1,439,149 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $62,612,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $44.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $39.42 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.67.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.