Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $34.40 on Friday. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Western Digital by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. BNP Paribas raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 200 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 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.