Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

by · The Markets Daily

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WDC. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.68.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Western Digital

Western Digital Stock Up 2.5 %

Western Digital stock opened at $36.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.88. The firm has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,648 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 8.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 82,027 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $3,316,000 after acquiring an additional 6,153 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 52.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 9,974 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Western Digital by 13.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 14,998 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About Western Digital

(Get Free Report)

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.

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