Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

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

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Down 0.5 %

WWD stock opened at $176.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $184.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.62. Woodward has a one year low of $144.13 and a one year high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 18.76%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $124,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $186,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 164,140 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,316,000 after purchasing an additional 26,249 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. 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.