Willis Towers Watson Public (WTW) Projected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) is projected to release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 24th. Analysts expect Willis Towers Watson Public to post earnings of $3.27 per share and revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter. Investors that are interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Willis Towers Watson Public to post $17 EPS for the current fiscal year and $20 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW opened at $324.73 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $316.25. The firm has a market cap of $32.37 billion, a PE ratio of -324.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -368.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,368 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $387.00 price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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.