Thomas Cromwell Sells 5,000 Shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total value of $1,489,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Woodward Trading Down 2.2%

WWD opened at $287.85 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $272.22 and its 200-day moving average is $255.33. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $304.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.26. Woodward had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 17.68%. The business had revenue of $995.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $943.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 1,766.7% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 112 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.67.

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.