Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $229.00 to $255.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Woodward traded as high as $241.70 and last traded at $237.65, with a volume of 783788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.99.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $267.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.57, for a total transaction of $1,027,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,030,661.69. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This represents a 11.78% 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 ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 2,314.3% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 189.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $211.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.99, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Woodward's payout ratio is 18.09%.

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.