Short Interest in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Increases By 25.5%

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, an increase of 25.5% from the June 15th total of 884,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 450,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTW. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $272.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $297.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $317.00 to $311.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $317.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gillson Capital LP raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Gillson Capital LP now owns 253,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,166,000 after acquiring an additional 54,361 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 114,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,614,000 after acquiring an additional 12,678 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 74,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,042,000 after acquiring an additional 28,046 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,455,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $264.21 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $256.95 and its 200 day moving average is $260.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $195.29 and a fifty-two week high of $278.86.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.31%.

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.