Appian Way Asset Management LP Buys New Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Appian Way Asset Management LP has invested $1.47 million in Woodward, Inc., acquiring 8,044 shares which now represents 0.3% of its portfolio.
• Woodward's quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $1.76 EPS on revenues of $915.45 million.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, reflecting a 0.5% yield, with the payout date set for September 4th.

Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,044 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,468,000. Woodward makes up 0.3% of Appian Way Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,951 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,815 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 3,241 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 4,136 shares of the technology company's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,057 shares of the technology company's stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 188.0% during the 4th quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 16,440 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,736,000 after buying an additional 10,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.11.

Woodward Stock Down 0.7%

Woodward stock traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $242.85. The stock had a trading volume of 642,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,182. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $267.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $250.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a PE ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.27.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.