Alembic Global Advisors Upgrades Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) to Overweight

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Alembic Global Advisors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $281.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Alembic Global Advisors’ target price points to a potential upside of 13.38% from the company’s previous close.

WWD has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Woodward Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $247.84 on Wednesday. Woodward has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $267.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. Research analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. This represents a 66.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,296 shares of company stock worth $6,611,283 over the last 90 days. 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 business. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 1.7% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,626 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Woodward by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 220 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Woodward by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 506 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Woodward by 3.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,909 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 4.1% during the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 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.