Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 636,700 shares, anincreaseof6,331.3% from the June 30th total of 9,900 shares. Approximately1.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 533,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 533,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately1.1% of the company's shares are sold short.
Woodward Stock Performance
Shares of WWD traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $258.08. The stock had a trading volume of 380,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,479. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.83. Woodward has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $267.45. The firm has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a PE ratio of 40.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.
Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The company 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%. Woodward's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.
Woodward Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.72%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 Trading of Woodward
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $294,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,580 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $733,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 142.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently weighed in on WWD. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price 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. Northcoast Research raised shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $242.13.
Get Our Latest Research Report on WWD
Woodward Company Profile
(
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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.
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