AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 54,289 Shares of Curtiss-Wright Corporation $CW

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has increased its holdings in Curtiss-Wright Corporation by 25.6%, acquiring an additional 54,289 shares for a total of approximately 0.71% ownership valued at $81.76 million.
• Curtiss-Wright reported $3.23 EPS in its recent quarterly earnings, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.13, with revenue of $876.58 million, an 11.7% year-over-year increase.
• Brokerages have adjusted their price targets for Curtiss-Wright, with Robert W. Baird increasing theirs from $432 to $500 and Citigroup raising theirs from $525 to $568, indicating positive sentiment among Wall Street analysts.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Free Report) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 266,445 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,289 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.71% of Curtiss-Wright worth $81,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,727 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 104.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 38,783 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,748,000 after buying an additional 19,798 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Curtiss-Wright during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 36.9% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 3,899 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 113.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.71% of the company's stock.

Curtiss-Wright Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of CW stock traded up $15.79 on Thursday, reaching $511.27. The company had a trading volume of 384,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,625. The company has a 50-day moving average of $486.57 and a 200-day moving average of $414.54. The stock has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.15, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.15. Curtiss-Wright Corporation has a 12 month low of $266.88 and a 12 month high of $517.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $876.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $855.10 million. Curtiss-Wright had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 13.66%.The firm's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Curtiss-Wright Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Curtiss-Wright's payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Activity at Curtiss-Wright

In other news, VP John C. Watts sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.50, for a total transaction of $533,355.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,856,171.50. This represents a 22.32% 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. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Curtiss-Wright from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $432.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Curtiss-Wright from $525.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $450.00 to $457.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Curtiss-Wright from $405.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $468.14.

Curtiss-Wright Profile

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered products, solutions, and services mainly to aerospace and defense, commercial power, process, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power.