John Cohn Sells 3,000 Shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Director John Cohn sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.33, for a total value of $888,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,319.75. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Woodward Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $298.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a PE ratio of 47.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $262.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.25. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $304.72.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.26. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The business had revenue of $995.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $943.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WWD shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 target price on Woodward and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,190 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 33.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 25.9% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 505 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the first quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the first quarter valued at about $294,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by 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.