Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

WWD has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.67.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $167.62. The company had a trading volume of 528,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,581. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.82 and a 200-day moving average of $167.37. Woodward has a 52 week low of $119.03 and a 52 week high of $188.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. The company had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 2.4% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Woodward by 13.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 7.7% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,699 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 9.8% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,891 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.