Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on WWD. Truist Financial upped their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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, February 4th. Five 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.com, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $157.29 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.17. The stock has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. 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 earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444 over the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Woodward by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth $1,134,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,348,000 after buying an additional 7,248 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at about $124,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth about $186,000. 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.