Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives $197.38 Average Target Price from Analysts

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $197.38.

Several research analysts recently commented on WWD shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward 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 directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents 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 accessible through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 14,038 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,408,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in Woodward by 2.1% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 12.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,153 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,003,000 after purchasing an additional 6,917 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 165.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $270,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $183.29 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $186.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $144.45 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

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

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.