Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) to Buy

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $382.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $352.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 22.83% from the stock’s previous close.

WTW has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $359.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $334.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.33.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $311.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public has a twelve month low of $234.88 and a twelve month high of $334.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $307.95 and a 200 day moving average of $287.25.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 7.36% and a positive return on equity of 18.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.