Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $268.6667.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WWD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Alembic Global Advisors raised Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD opened at $258.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.26. Woodward has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $270.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $249.65 and its 200-day moving average is $237.54.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total value of $427,560.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,121,680.16. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Woodward by 1,766.7% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 627.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 160 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.