Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Acquires New Holdings in Curtiss-Wright Corporation $CW

Key Points

• Ardsley Advisory Partners disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Curtiss-Wright, buying 2,500 shares worth about $1.38 million. The filing also showed institutional ownership remains very high, with 82.71% of shares held by institutions.
• Analysts are broadly positive on the stock, with Curtiss-Wright carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $746.67. Recent price targets ranged as high as $870, though some firms maintained neutral or hold views.
• The company posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting $3.48 EPS versus estimates of $3.32 and revenue of $913.69 million, up 13.4% year over year. Curtiss-Wright also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share payable July 6.

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP acquired a new stake in Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,378,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CW. Norges Bank bought a new position in Curtiss-Wright in the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,633,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 490,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $270,392,000 after purchasing an additional 185,887 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE acquired a new stake in Curtiss-Wright in the 4th quarter valued at $76,892,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Curtiss-Wright by 45.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 388,493 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $189,468,000 after buying an additional 122,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Curtiss-Wright in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,320,000. 82.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $724.00 price objective on Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Curtiss-Wright from $728.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $870.00 target price on Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Curtiss-Wright currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $746.67.

Curtiss-Wright Price Performance

NYSE CW opened at $776.95 on Thursday. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $458.74 and a 12-month high of $785.94. The company has a market capitalization of $28.70 billion, a PE ratio of 56.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $731.22 and its 200-day moving average is $669.64.

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

Curtiss-Wright Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Curtiss-Wright's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Curtiss-Wright

In other Curtiss-Wright news, VP Gary A. Ogilby sold 399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.95, for a total value of $288,058.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,172 shares in the company, valued at $1,568,075.40. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John C. Watts sold 220 shares of Curtiss-Wright stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $752.91, for a total value of $165,640.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,983,029.42. This represents a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 3,119 shares of company stock worth $2,257,998 over the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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