Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock Price

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $225.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.33% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.88.

Woodward Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of WWD traded up $4.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $210.61. 456,037 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,542. Woodward has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $216.95. The stock has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50-day moving average is $185.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total transaction of $1,071,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,623,585.64. The trade was a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,700 shares of company stock valued at $7,851,450 in the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted 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 acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 189.8% in the first 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. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Woodward by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 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.