Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Curtiss-Wright shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to $502.31 after Citigroup cut its price target from $793 to $622 and maintained a neutral rating.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts’ consensus remains “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $746.88; recent quarterly earnings also exceeded EPS expectations, although revenue came in slightly below estimates.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.26 per share, bringing the annualized payout to $1.04 and the yield to approximately 0.2%.

Shares of Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $793.00 to $622.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Curtiss-Wright traded as low as $502.31 and last traded at $508.1060, with a volume of 588702 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $553.35.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $801.00 price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $786.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $860.00 target price on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Curtiss-Wright from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $665.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Curtiss-Wright presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $746.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John C. Watts sold 1,035 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $619.46, for a total transaction of $641,141.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,694,842.56. This trade represents a 27.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry D. Wyche sold 100 shares of Curtiss-Wright stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.74, for a total transaction of $59,674.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $843,790.36. This trade represents a 6.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CW. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 9.3% in the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 376 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Curtiss-Wright by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Curtiss-Wright by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,097 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $9,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,462 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,201,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. 82.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Curtiss-Wright Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $610.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $688.56.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $924.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $926.17 million. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 20.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 15.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Curtiss-Wright Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This is an increase from Curtiss-Wright's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Curtiss-Wright's payout ratio is currently 7.16%.

About Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a diversified manufacturer and service provider serving the aerospace, defense, commercial power and industrial markets. The company develops and produces highly engineered components and systems used in applications where reliability, performance and safety are critical.

Its products and services include aircraft and industrial actuation systems, sensors and controls, electronic components, embedded computing systems, data-acquisition equipment, valves, pumps, motors and other flow-control products.

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