Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Curtiss‑Wright hit a new 52‑week high, trading as high as $741.23 (last $737.62) and was up about 1.8%, with the 50‑day/200‑day moving averages at $686.65 and $614.82 respectively.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Q4 EPS $3.79 vs. $3.66 estimate and revenue $946.98M vs. $890.14M, with revenue up 14.9% YoY and strong profitability (net margin 13.84%, ROE 19.28%).
• Analyst and insider signals are mixed: the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" (four Buy, three Hold) with a $677 average target while Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank set $760 and $748 targets, and insiders sold ~22,717 shares (~$14.5M) over the past 90 days.

Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $741.23 and last traded at $737.6220, with a volume of 5218 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $725.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Curtiss-Wright from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial set a $603.00 price objective on Curtiss-Wright in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $748.00 price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Curtiss-Wright has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $677.00.

Curtiss-Wright Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $27.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.07, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $686.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $614.82.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $946.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $890.14 million. Curtiss-Wright had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 13.84%.Curtiss-Wright's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Curtiss-Wright Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 26th. Curtiss-Wright's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.46%.

Insider Activity at Curtiss-Wright

In other news, VP Gary A. Ogilby sold 625 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.32, for a total transaction of $390,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,605,126.72. This represents a 19.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO K Christopher Farkas sold 2,665 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.33, for a total value of $1,669,169.45. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,608,536.14. This represents a 26.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 22,717 shares of company stock valued at $14,533,791 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Curtiss-Wright during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Curtiss-Wright during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Curtiss-Wright by 53.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Curtiss-Wright during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Curtiss-Wright by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 82.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Curtiss-Wright Company Profile

Curtiss-Wright Corporation NYSE: CW is a diversified, global engineering company that designs, manufactures and services highly engineered products and integrated systems for the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Its offerings span a range of electromechanical, motion control and flow control technologies, including flight control and actuation systems, sensors and avionics components, pumps and valves, power conversion and heat exchangers, and platform integration solutions for marine and ground systems.

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