Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $248.84 and last traded at $248.82, with a volume of 575764 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $244.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. Truist Financial set a $267.00 price objective on Woodward and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.88.

Woodward Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.79, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $218.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.01.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, 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 sale, the director directly owned 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,958,480. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,250 shares of company stock worth $9,035,789 over the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. grew its holdings in Woodward by 130.2% during the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $221,133,000 after acquiring an additional 751,541 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,220,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 44,162.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $86,187,000 after purchasing an additional 471,217 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $253,175,000 after purchasing an additional 367,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,187,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.