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 recipient of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,000,000 shares, a growth of 32.4% from the July 31st total of 755,400 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 551,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 551,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. 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 research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $1.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $238.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 432,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 478,204. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $249.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $267.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,121,680.16. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,096 shares of company stock worth $759,060 over the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted 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 buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the first quarter worth $38,000. 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.