Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives $197.38 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $197.38.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock opened at $188.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $186.17 and its 200-day moving average is $176.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward has a 12 month low of $144.45 and a 12 month high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business posted $1.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. grew its stake in Woodward by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $221,133,000 after purchasing an additional 751,541 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,220,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 135.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,170,000 after acquiring an additional 570,124 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $253,175,000 after acquiring an additional 367,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $31,187,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.