Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $174.38.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th.

Woodward Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WWD stock opened at $183.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Woodward has a 52 week low of $113.36 and a 52 week high of $188.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 11.09%. The firm had revenue of $835.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Woodward will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.48%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total transaction of $1,002,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,914,324.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $84,157,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 743.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 223,639 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,452,000 after acquiring an additional 197,125 shares in the last quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP grew its stake in Woodward by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 490,042 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,893,000 after acquiring an additional 187,300 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,345,438 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $207,359,000 after acquiring an additional 147,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Woodward by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 524,683 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $71,425,000 after purchasing an additional 143,410 shares in 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.