Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives $187.44 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $187.44.

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $172.62 on Friday. Woodward has a 1 year low of $131.12 and a 1 year high of $201.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.73.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $810.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Woodward will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072 over the last quarter. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $2,547,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Woodward by 8.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,897 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,742,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,502 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $219,321,000 after buying an additional 59,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,734 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,928,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Company Profile

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.