Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.67.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $164.04 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $119.03 and a fifty-two week high of $188.35. The company has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $164.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.73.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $853.29 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 5.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,711 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its stake in Woodward by 99.1% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 4,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Woodward in the first quarter worth approximately $332,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Woodward in the first quarter valued at approximately $698,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2.1% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,810 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Company Profile

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.