Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, 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 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $195.00.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on shares of Woodward and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,216.80. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,700 shares of company stock worth $5,751,700. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 2,314.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of WWD stock opened at $203.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. Woodward has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $204.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $180.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

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.