Brokerages Set Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) PT at $64.15

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $64.15.

Several equities research analysts have commented on WDC shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Securities reduced their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $44.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.33. 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 has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.58%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Western Digital by 278.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.