Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Hits New 1-Year High at $182.71

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $182.71 and last traded at $181.09, with a volume of 48149 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $182.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Woodward from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.13.

Woodward Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $158.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.31. The firm has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $807.04 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,836 shares in the company, valued at $677,040. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 55,700 shares of company stock valued at $8,036,686 in the last three months. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 66.9% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the technology company's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at $1,911,000. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,345,438 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $207,359,000 after purchasing an additional 147,856 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in Woodward by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 26,042 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Woodward by 3.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 23,853 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,676,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% 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.