Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Reaches New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $169.99 and last traded at $164.66, with a volume of 374686 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $151.07.

The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $835.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.04 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Woodward’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 17.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Woodward from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 11,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,680,049.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 79.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.65.

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.