Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 961,700 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the January 31st total of 796,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 476,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ WWD opened at $182.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $183.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.13. The company has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40. Woodward has a 1-year low of $144.04 and a 1-year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.