UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its price target upped by research analysts at UBS Group from $283.00 to $299.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.36% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.13.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock opened at $266.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.10, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $267.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. Woodward’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. This represents a 66.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,296 shares of company stock worth $8,711,033 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $294,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Woodward by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Woodward by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $733,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 142.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Woodward

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.