With a forward dividend & yield of 1.00 and 6.26%, Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. [NYSE:WDR] has active tape with a current price of $16.87 against an analyst price target of 14.36.
For the year, the stock is trading -4.49% and the five-day change stands at 7.54%. As a point of reference, the S&P 500 is trading 0.55% YTD.
Other data to note about the company today is the Recommendation Trend that is leaning toward Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. [WDR] as Hold.
The Price is right
Holding a Market Cap of $1.01 billion, Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. has seen a trading range over the last year of $9.87-$17.64.
For the last five days, WDR is up from its last closing price. The average shares trading hands each day is 834.11K, with average 10-day volume coming in at 0.82 million.
Using a Force Index Indicator is a good way to look at how strong actual buying and selling pressure is for WDR. When we apply the Elder Force Index to Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., we are seeing an Elder Force Indicator number of 705213.0.
Recent Performance
The recent performance of the stock is another area that can tell traders how to proceed. WDR is presenting an interesting case. This can be seen in the Forward P/E ratio, which currently stands at 12.56. Moreover, the company’s enterprise value has gone from $945.48M to $701.64M quarter-over-quarter. Obviously, the company is heading in the wrong direction, but there are still opportunities for growth in the sector.
In the last quarter, WDR made a profit of 23.63 million. Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. also saw quarter revenue growth year over year of -7.70%. In addition, the company has operating cash flow of $171.59 million.
Technical Analysis
Looking at popular technical indicators, the company’s 5-day moving average is 15.75 compared to the 50-day moving average of 15.30. So, we are clearly seeing an upward trajectory here.
The Relative Strength Index or RSI is an indicator ranging between 0 and 100 that traders use to determine if a stock is “overbought” or “oversold.” A strong uptrend tending to reach into the “overbought” status is above 70, while a downward trend will stay around the 30 mark. WDR currently holds a 9-day RSI of 75.96%, while 100-day RSI stands at 53.03%.
Another indicator we believe is worth keeping tabs on is the Moving Average Convergence Divergence or MACD. Similar to the concept of the Force Index — on the basis of price momentum — the MACD gives traders a tool to measure the turning point of a stock even during rapid fluctuations in price. Buy and sell signals are determined by a stock’s relation to the zero line, so if a stock is above a zero line for many weeks it might be a “buy.” On the other hand, if a stock is below the zero line consistently, it might be one to stay away from. Also, if the MACD line reaches a peak and dips, its momentum may be waning. WDR’s 9-day MACD is 0.79 and the company’s 100-day MACD stands at 1.02.
Inside Moves
Another area that is important to analyze is insider moves and majority shareholders. While this is not always an error-free way to tell what the future holds for a stock, you can maybe gather important information from reading the tea leaves about who is buying and selling.
The major holders for this stock are 3.68% by insiders and 116.86% by institutions. Regarding institutional holdings, Blackrock Inc. owns 15.59%, while the second top holder, Vanguard Group, Inc. (The), currently owns 10.91%.
Over the last six months, insiders have sold 9,500 with the most recent transaction from WALTON JERRY W, Director, with a sell at price 17.48 per share.
Conclusion
Overall, the recommended rating for WDR is Hold. Currently, the company has 6 analysts watching the stock, and the average quarterly earnings estimate is 0.38. Quarterly revenue estimates are averaging 259.02M with the high estimate reaching 263.07M and the low at 251.95M.
To review, the current 1-year target estimate is sitting at 14.36, while the current price 16.87. Based on this, we expect some pullback on the stock over time given our above analysis.
