Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Purchases 110,799 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 164.5% during the first quarter, acquiring 110,799 shares and making Woodward its 3rd largest position in the portfolio.
• Woodward reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.62, with revenue reaching $915.45 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, set to be paid on September 4th, demonstrating a payout ratio of 17.72%.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 164.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,139 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 110,799 shares during the quarter. Woodward accounts for 0.2% of Eisler Capital Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. owned 0.30% of Woodward worth $32,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 2.3% during the first quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 2,193,238 shares of the technology company's stock worth $400,244,000 after purchasing an additional 49,481 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $253,175,000 after acquiring an additional 367,300 shares during the last quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $221,133,000 after acquiring an additional 751,541 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,225,750 shares of the technology company's stock worth $203,989,000 after acquiring an additional 168,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 5.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,092,257 shares of the technology company's stock worth $199,326,000 after acquiring an additional 51,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $252.29 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $250.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.68. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $267.45. The company has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The company had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward's quarterly 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, analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total transaction of $1,079,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 73,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,791,809.66. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the business'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 value of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,296 shares of company stock worth $5,544,333. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Company 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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