Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Short Interest Down 19.2% in November

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a drop of 19.2% from the October 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 451,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $226.00 price target (up from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.67.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,044,929.15. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 27,913 shares of company stock worth $4,907,304 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the first quarter worth $229,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 82.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 660 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $180.32 on Monday. Woodward has a one year low of $129.96 and a one year high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $169.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.04.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 16.64%.

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.