Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Given "Buy (B)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Woodward's stock received a reiterated "Buy (B)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating positive sentiment among analysts.
• Wooodward's recent quarterly earnings beat estimates, reporting $1.76 EPS compared to the expected $1.62, and revenue of $915.45 million exceeded predictions.
• UBS Group increased its price target for Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00, reflecting strong investor confidence in the company's growth potential.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reiterated by Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on WWD. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Woodward and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.67.

Woodward Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $265.64. The stock had a trading volume of 384,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,124. Woodward has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $267.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $247.00 and its 200-day moving average is $230.81. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The company had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company's quarterly 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. Research analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total value of $427,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,121,680.16. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Woodward by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,580 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 165,286 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at about $294,000. Finally, Tribune Investment Group LP purchased a new position in Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at about $8,577,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

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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