Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Short Interest Update

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, an increase of 69.1% from the March 31st total of 780,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 381,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $150.58 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.39. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $160.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.65.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $786.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.13 million. Woodward had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 15.26%. Woodward’s revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Woodward will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Woodward from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $165.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.22.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total value of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,049.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $1,540,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,836 shares in the company, valued at $677,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,920 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 98.7% in the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 69,578 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,458,000 after buying an additional 34,570 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth $438,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 11.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,975 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at $32,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.