Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Sets New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $169.99 and last traded at $164.66, with a volume of 374686 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $151.07.

The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 21.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WWD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four research 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, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.89.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.86, for a total value of $208,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,934.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.86, for a total value of $208,290.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,934.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,242,916 in the last three months. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 79.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Woodward in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $148.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.67.

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.