4,557 Shares in Woodward, Inc. $WWD Bought by Concentric Capital Strategies LP

Key Points

• Concentric Capital Strategies LP invested $832,000 to acquire 4,557 shares of Woodward, Inc. in the first quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Woodward reported earnings of $1.76 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.62, with total revenue reaching $915.45 million, up 8.0% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28, representing an annualized yield of 0.5%, with a payout ratio of 17.72%.

Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,557 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WWD. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $294,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,580 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Finally, Tribune Investment Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,577,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ WWD traded down $1.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $242.85. 642,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 445,182. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.43, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.27.

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 business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Woodward

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.