Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a recent research report.
• Woodward's performance reflects a 8.0% year-over-year revenue increase, with reported earnings per share of $1.76, surpassing consensus estimates.
• Multiple firms have varying ratings for Woodward, with six analysts giving it a Buy rating while five have issued Hold ratings, and the average target price is currently $253.11.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WWD. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $239.98. 626,119 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 470,384. The stock has a market cap of $14.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $250.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.05. Woodward has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward's payout ratio is 17.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total transaction of $427,560.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,121,680.16. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,096 shares of company stock worth $759,060 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,815 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,627,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,057 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,522 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 700.5% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 97,291 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,191,000 after acquiring an additional 85,137 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,915 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.