Analysts Set Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) PT at $189.78

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com 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 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $189.78.

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $226.00 price target (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $430,968.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,313 shares of company stock worth $10,752,072. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Woodward by 101.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $69,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $178.35 on Thursday. Woodward has a 52 week low of $133.56 and a 52 week high of $201.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $174.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.39 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 16.64%.

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.