UBS Group Raises Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target to $232.00

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its price target upped by research analysts at UBS Group from $216.00 to $232.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.71% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.38.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $4.80 on Tuesday, hitting $183.10. 576,298 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 446,265. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.49. 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 company has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.40. Woodward has a 12-month low of $133.56 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Woodward will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,093,275.35. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072 over the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Woodward by 101.6% during 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 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.