Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Woodward’s FY2027 earnings at $9.67 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WWD. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Woodward in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $450.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.91.

Woodward Trading Up 0.3%

Woodward stock opened at $367.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $378.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $326.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.29, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.98. Woodward has a 52 week low of $174.52 and a 52 week high of $407.00.

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, topping 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 net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Analysts expect that Woodward will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,625 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.80, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 1,850 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.37, for a total transaction of $711,084.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,625.15. The trade was a 37.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 26,925 shares of company stock valued at $10,203,160 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

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

About Woodward

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.