Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

WWD has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.75.

Woodward Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $184.83 on Tuesday. Woodward has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total transaction of $641,388.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 in the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Woodward by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Woodward by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.