Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Curtiss-Wright hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $779.70, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $746.67, while recent targets ranged from $724 to $870.
• The company beat its latest quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.48 EPS on $913.69 million in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share.

Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $779.70 and last traded at $764.7390, with a volume of 239576 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $762.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CW. Robert W. Baird set a $870.00 price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $724.00 price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $748.00 price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $728.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $746.67.

Curtiss-Wright Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average is $729.66 and its 200-day moving average is $668.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.16. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 20.00%. The firm had revenue of $913.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 15.15 EPS for the current year.

Curtiss-Wright Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Curtiss-Wright's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Curtiss-Wright news, EVP John C. Watts sold 220 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $752.91, for a total transaction of $165,640.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,983,029.42. This represents a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Gary A. Ogilby sold 399 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.95, for a total transaction of $288,058.05. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,568,075.40. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,119 shares of company stock worth $2,257,998. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 53.8% in 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. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 25.9% in 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. Signature Equity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 140.0% in the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.71% of the company's stock.

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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