Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Short Interest Up 32.4% in August

Key Points

• Short interest for Woodward, Inc. increased by 32.4% in August, totaling 1,000,000 shares, which represents 1.8% of the company's stock.
• Executive VP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock on July 3rd, reducing his position by 1.70% and bringing his total ownership to approximately 48,981 shares.
• Institutional investors own 81.18% of Woodward's stock, with recent activity including significant purchases by firms like Kilter Group LLC and MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB.

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,000,000 shares, anincreaseof32.4% from the July 31st total of 755,400 shares. Currently,1.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 551,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Based on an average daily volume of 551,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently,1.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the second quarter worth about $39,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 189.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11.

Woodward Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $240.94 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $267.45. The stock has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.12, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $250.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.36.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

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.

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