Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $330.67, but opened at $312.05. Willis Towers Watson Public shares last traded at $316.85, with a volume of 161,369 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WTW shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.64.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.74 billion, a PE ratio of -44.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 7.36% and a positive return on equity of 18.57%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -48.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.