Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives $195.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $195.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

Woodward Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $213.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $183.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.33. Woodward has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $216.95.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,700 shares of company stock worth $5,751,700. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 45,928 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,381,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 35.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 0.7% in 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 valued at $30,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth about $2,039,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth about $703,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.