Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives $232.25 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Key Points

• Woodward, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of $232.25.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.69 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.9%.
• Woodward also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, which will be paid on September 4th, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.44%.

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $242.13.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WWD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,739 shares in the company, valued at $14,944,998.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,296 shares of company stock worth $8,711,033. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the first quarter worth about $38,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded down $3.66 during trading on Monday, hitting $262.44. 56,262 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,040. Woodward has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $267.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.61, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.26.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

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.