WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on WisdomTree from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings raised WisdomTree from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on WisdomTree from $18.30 to $21.30 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on WisdomTree from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research raised WisdomTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.05.

WisdomTree Price Performance

WT opened at $21.21 on Friday. WisdomTree has a 1 year low of $10.69 and a 1 year high of $25.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.29.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. WisdomTree had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 39.12%. The company had revenue of $177.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that WisdomTree will post 1.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. WisdomTree’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WisdomTree

In other news, COO R. Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of WisdomTree stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.56, for a total value of $736,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,080,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,530,817.20. The trade was a 2.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WisdomTree

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WisdomTree by 839.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 4,020 shares in the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 65,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 3,984 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in WisdomTree by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 34,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in WisdomTree in the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its position in WisdomTree by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 9,871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree, Inc is a financial services company that sponsors and manages exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products. Its offerings provide access to equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities, alternatives and other asset classes through rules-based investment strategies designed for individual and institutional investors.

The company also provides model portfolios, separately managed accounts and other investment solutions for financial professionals. In addition, WisdomTree has developed products and capabilities related to digital assets and blockchain-enabled financial services, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.

Founded in 1985 and formerly known as WisdomTree Investments, the company launched its first ETFs in 2006 and became known for dividend-focused and fundamentally weighted strategies.