Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $209.00 to $228.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Woodward traded as high as $201.64 and last traded at $196.05, with a volume of 584700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.29.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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 note on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.67.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total transaction of $1,745,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,008,669.50. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304. 1.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 114.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,038 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 9,092 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 17,072.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,760 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,165,000 after purchasing an additional 76,313 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 16.3% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 93,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,274,000 after purchasing an additional 13,097 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp lifted its holdings in Woodward by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 66,510 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at $548,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.59 and a 200-day moving average of $170.94.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.64%.

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.