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

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $174.67.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,044,929.15. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,913 shares of company stock worth $4,907,304. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 222.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 23,990 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after acquiring an additional 16,557 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Woodward by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $899,431,000 after buying an additional 77,654 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth $1,036,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 23,853 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,676,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $170.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Woodward has a 12 month low of $128.52 and a 12 month high of $188.35. The stock has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $167.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.92.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is 16.72%.

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.