Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.8889.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $97.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $76.27 and its 200-day moving average is $57.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.69. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $98.86.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $239,148.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 26.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 22,460 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 4,719 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $520,000. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 220.0% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 18,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 12,899 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Wellington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $845,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.