Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $253.70 and last traded at $253.50, with a volume of 514536 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $252.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WWD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.88.

Woodward Trading Down 1.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.26. The business's fifty day moving average is $222.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.06.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company's stock worth $83,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,936 shares of the technology company's stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $2,687,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $31,187,000. 81.18% of the stock is 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.