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

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WWD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $189.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $179.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.68. Woodward has a 52-week low of $134.82 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The company has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $1,818,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,313 shares of company stock valued at $9,007,072 in the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Woodward by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.