UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.74% from its previous close.
• Various investment analysts have shown optimism by increasing their price targets for Woodward, with recommendations ranging from $245.00 to $294.00.
• Woodward reported earnings of $1.76 per share in its last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and saw an 8.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by research analysts at UBS Group from $283.00 to $299.00 in a 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 points to a potential upside of 12.36% from the stock's current price.

WWD has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $242.13.

Woodward Trading Up 1.5%

WWD stock traded up $3.99 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $266.10. 520,681 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 551,317. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a PE ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business's 50 day moving average price is $240.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.30. Woodward has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%. The business had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. The trade was a 66.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Woodward by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.