Thomas Cromwell Sells 5,000 Shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,508,413.80. This trade represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Woodward Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:WWD traded down $3.92 on Tuesday, reaching $294.42. 443,049 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 527,746. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $270.70 and a 200-day moving average of $254.56. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $304.72.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $995.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $943.15 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.68% and a net margin of 12.39%.The company’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $300.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.67.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter valued at approximately $246,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 0.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 165,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Woodward by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,681 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,088,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at $698,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,682,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Company Profile

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.