Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted 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 note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.67.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $164.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.96. Woodward has a twelve month low of $120.82 and a twelve month high of $188.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. The business 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. Woodward’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Woodward by 13.0% in 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Woodward by 7.7% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,699 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Woodward by 101.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring 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.