Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Short Interest Down 16.5% in May

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a decrease of 16.5% from the April 30th total of 1,330,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 516,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock opened at $230.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.63, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. Woodward has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $231.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $189.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.29.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total value of $1,864,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,886,305.73. This trade represents a 39.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total transaction of $1,079,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,791,809.66. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,100 shares of company stock valued at $9,134,144. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Woodward during the first quarter worth approximately $1,199,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 684.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 45,928 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,381,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 35.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 165,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $232.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.75.

Woodward Company Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.