Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $209.00 to $228.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Woodward traded as high as $201.64 and last traded at $196.05, with a volume of 584700 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $179.29.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $226.00 price target (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $1,745,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,008,669.50. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304 in the last 90 days. 1.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the first quarter worth about $229,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 82.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 660 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $168.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.87.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.72%.

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.