Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Melius upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $319.75 and last traded at $321.8270, with a volume of 94130 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $310.86.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Woodward in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $2,105,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,303.60. The trade was a 42.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total value of $1,489,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. The trade was a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $11,908,210. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $603,663,000 after buying an additional 80,538 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,691,000 after acquiring an additional 8,307 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 122.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $228,849,000 after acquiring an additional 497,722 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Woodward by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 887,938 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $224,391,000 after acquiring an additional 18,821 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,555,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 44.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.43.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $943.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.