Brokerages Set Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) PT at $195.38

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $197.38.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,313 shares of company stock valued at $7,230,572 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Woodward by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Trading Up 0.5 %

WWD opened at $195.22 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $179.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward has a 1-year low of $134.82 and a 1-year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company posted $1.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 16.75%.

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.