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

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com 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 brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $298.7778.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Woodward from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Woodward and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $2,105,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,303.60. This represents a 42.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.33, for a total transaction of $888,990.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,319.75. The trade was a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $11,908,210 in the last 90 days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 1,766.7% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Woodward News

Here are the key news stories impacting Woodward this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in mid-December, dropping ~20.7% to 877,027 shares (about 1.5% of shares short) and a days-to-cover near 1.5 — less short pressure can reduce downside risk and supports momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Large inflows into the stock have been reported, which analysts and traders cite as a major driver of the recent rally. Big Money Inflows Send Woodward Skyward
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and headlines note WWD has hit a 52‑week high and strong multi‑quarter momentum — items that attract momentum investors and can amplify short-term buying. Woodward, Inc. (WWD) hit a 52-week high
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating on WWD, providing analyst backing that supports investor confidence. Deutsche Bank maintains Woodward (WWD) buy recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Media/analyst notes point to strong underlying fundamentals and guidance (recent earnings beat and solid FY guidance have been cited in coverage), supporting the 12‑month ~85% appreciation story and continued momentum. WWD Stock Appreciates 85% in 12 Months
• Neutral Sentiment: One short-interest data point in the feed shows “0 shares” for Dec. 24 with NaN changes — this appears to be a reporting error and should not be interpreted as meaningful market information at this time.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $314.04 on Thursday. Woodward has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $317.56. The stock has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.68, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $277.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.08.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $943.15 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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 purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Company Profile

Woodward, Inc (NASDAQ: WWD) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward’s product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.