Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $221.00 and last traded at $215.63, with a volume of 2898 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GWRE. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $228.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.08.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 595.83, a PEG ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $192.58 and its 200-day moving average is $192.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $289.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.74 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. On average, analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President John P. Mullen sold 2,300 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.13, for a total transaction of $467,199.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 172,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,028,955.98. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $199,069.91. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,613 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,148.33. The trade was a 2.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,371 shares of company stock worth $6,207,005 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GWRE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,436,873 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $747,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,966 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 70.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,104 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $267,382,000 after purchasing an additional 589,424 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 1st quarter valued at about $85,453,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Guidewire Software by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 946,158 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $159,503,000 after purchasing an additional 418,642 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 242.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 555,892 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,683,000 after acquiring an additional 393,445 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Company Profile

Guidewire Software, Inc provides a platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers worldwide. The company offers Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud, such as PolicyCenter Cloud, BillingCenter Cloud, and ClaimCenter Cloud applications. It also provides Guidewire InsuranceNow, a cloud-based platform that offers policy, billing, and claims management functionality to insurers; and Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed.