Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Given New $220.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at UBS Group from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.45% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.00.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded up $3.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $193.92. The company had a trading volume of 568,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,442. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. Woodward has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $178.46 and its 200 day moving average is $178.02.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,700 shares of company stock valued at $5,751,700 over the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in Woodward by 130.2% in the fourth quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $221,133,000 after purchasing an additional 751,541 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $120,220,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 135.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,170,000 after buying an additional 570,124 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 44,162.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $86,187,000 after buying an additional 471,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $253,175,000 after buying an additional 367,300 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.