Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Earns Buy Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $245.00 price target on the technology company's stock, up from their prior price target of $225.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 12.49% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.75.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $217.80. The stock had a trading volume of 176,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,335. The firm has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.45, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $226.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $186.51 and a 200-day moving average of $182.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total value of $1,071,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 72,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,623,585.64. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,700 shares of company stock valued at $8,918,400. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 189.8% in the 1st 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 during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.