Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Hits New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $266.43 and last traded at $255.34, with a volume of 94886 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $258.50.

The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 18.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective 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. Four 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.13.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 32.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 220 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,909 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Woodward by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its position in Woodward by 1.2% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $238.78 and its 200 day moving average is $203.47.

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.