Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.67.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $164.16 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.37. Woodward has a 1-year low of $119.03 and a 1-year high of $188.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $163.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.32.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. Woodward’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Woodward will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 3.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in Woodward by 13.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,699 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.