Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) traded down 6.8% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $321.60 and last traded at $323.83. Approximately 7,211,482 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 8,648,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $347.35.
More Western Digital News
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s fiscal first-quarter results beat expectations, while its second-quarter outlook and strong pricing, higher-capacity drives and AI-related storage demand support the prospect of further margin growth. Article: Western Digital’s Q1 Beat and Q2 Outlook Signal More Margin Upside
- Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by nearly 17%, a shareholder-return boost following strong revenue and earnings growth. Article: This Data Center and Storage Stock Just Raised Its Dividend by Nearly 17%
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital has recently moved with other memory and storage shares, including a rebound one session and a retreat the next, suggesting sector-wide sentiment is contributing to volatility. Article: Memory and Storage Stocks Retreat as Election and Memory-Price Worries Weigh
- Negative Sentiment: Concerns about a cautious outlook from flash maker Kioxia and potential memory-price weakness have pressured the broader group. For WDC, investors are also weighing its valuation and execution risks, particularly around HAMR technology, against its growth prospects. Article: Western Digital Fell on a Flash Maker’s Cautious Outlook Article: Is WDC a Buy as Earnings Surge but Valuation and Execution Risks Rise?
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Susquehanna set a $405.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush boosted their price target on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.04.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on WDC
Western Digital Price Performance
The business’s 50-day moving average price is $417.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $418.03. The firm has a market cap of $121.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.27.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a net margin of 69.20% and a return on equity of 55.62%. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.1750 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.33%.
Insider Transactions at Western Digital
In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $306,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,928 shares in the company, valued at $41,392,640. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Western Digital
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 182.6% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 65 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
About Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.
The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.
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