Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $440.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

WWD has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.50.

Woodward Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of WWD stock opened at $375.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.98. Woodward has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $403.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $369.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.07.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $996.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.92 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 12.89%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 16.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.80, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,340,619.20. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eileen P. Paterson sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.15, for a total transaction of $1,966,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,538 shares in the company, valued at $959,744.70. This represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,925 shares of company stock worth $10,203,160 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Woodward by 1,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 112 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.