Aristides Capital LLC Boosts Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Aristides Capital LLC has increased its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 80.8% to a total of 3,478 shares, valued at $635,000, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Woodward, with UBS setting a new target of $299.00 and Alembic Global Advisors upgrading the stock to "overweight", suggesting a positive outlook.
• Woodward recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, with a payout ratio of 17.72%, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Aristides Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 80.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,478 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the quarter. Aristides Capital LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 191.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 189.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the first quarter valued at $38,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $246.00 on Tuesday. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $267.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $249.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $14.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.72%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total value of $1,079,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 73,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,791,809.66. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,296 shares of company stock worth $5,544,333. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward 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.

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