Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $232.25.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Woodward Stock Up 0.8%

WWD stock opened at $257.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Woodward has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $259.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $237.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.56, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The company had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,965 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,216.80. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.