StockNews.com Downgrades Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) to Hold

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.38.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $157.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. Woodward has a one year low of $144.45 and a one year high of $201.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $184.93 and a 200 day moving average of $177.08.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Woodward by 191.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Woodward by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.