Paradoxiom Capital L.P. Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Paradoxiom Capital L.P. acquired 48,866 shares of Woodward, Inc., valued at approximately $8.9 million, making it the firm's 3rd largest holding.
• Woodward's stock received a strong-buy rating upgrade from Wall Street Zen, while Zacks Research lowered it to a hold rating, indicating varying analyst sentiment.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.76 EPS, exceeding estimates, along with an announced quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, yielding 0.5%.

Paradoxiom Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 48,866 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,918,000. Woodward comprises 5.8% of Paradoxiom Capital L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Paradoxiom Capital L.P. owned 0.08% of Woodward at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,815 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,627,000 after buying an additional 3,241 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Woodward by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,057 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Woodward by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,522 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 700.5% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 97,291 shares of the technology company's stock worth $16,191,000 after purchasing an additional 85,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,915 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total value of $427,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,121,680.16. This represents a 7.70% 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,096 shares of company stock worth $759,060. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WWD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.11.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ:WWD traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $239.98. The stock had a trading volume of 626,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,258. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a PE ratio of 37.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.27. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous 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 anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

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.