Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Buys New Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC has acquired a new position in Woodward, Inc. by purchasing 1,651 shares valued at approximately $405,000 in the 2nd quarter.
• Institutional investors hold a significant portion of Woodward's stock, with 81.18% ownership, including substantial increases from GAMMA Investing LLC and other firms during the first quarter.
• Woodward recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and set a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 6.500-6.750.

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,651 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WWD. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 44,162.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company's stock worth $86,187,000 after buying an additional 471,217 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the first quarter valued at $25,667,000. Senator Investment Group LP bought a new stake in Woodward during the first quarter valued at $22,355,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Woodward by 164.5% during the 1st quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. now owns 178,139 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,503,000 after acquiring an additional 110,799 shares during the period. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter worth about $13,055,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total transaction of $427,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,121,680.16. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm's 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 sale, 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. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research lowered Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock opened at $239.08 on Wednesday. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $267.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $248.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.46. The stock has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.Woodward's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Woodward's payout ratio is 17.72%.

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.

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