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

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a growth 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. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $150.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $160.79. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $786.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.13 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 9.50%. The company’s revenue was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Woodward will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Alembic Global Advisors cut Woodward from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Woodward news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $1,540,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,836 shares in the company, valued at $677,040. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 28,230 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,843,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Woodward by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 28,741 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,430,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Woodward by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,510 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,975,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.