Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $197.38.

WWD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Woodward Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $195.22 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $179.63 and its 200-day moving average is $170.85. Woodward has a 1 year low of $134.82 and a 1 year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Woodward will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 16.64%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,929.15. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,313 shares of company stock valued at $9,007,072 over the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. bought a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at $99,000,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Woodward by 135.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at $31,187,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT bought a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at $20,045,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Woodward by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,309,000 after purchasing an additional 110,569 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.