Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Sets New 12-Month High at $180.53

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $180.53 and last traded at $180.53, with a volume of 608 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $178.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.13.

Woodward Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company's fifty day moving average price is $155.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.69. The company has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 11.09%. The firm had revenue of $835.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $807.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total value of $5,494,626.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $1,540,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $677,040. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total value of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,700 shares of company stock worth $8,036,686. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $460,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Woodward by 58.2% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 22,430 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,787,000 after buying an additional 8,255 shares during the period. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. boosted its position in Woodward by 1.4% during the third quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 30,174 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,749,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,325 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 83,901 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,426,000 after acquiring an additional 9,259 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.