Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) reported quarterly earnings of $1.76 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.60 EPS by $0.16.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.43%, payable on September 4th to investors of record as of August 21st.
• Wall Street analysts have positive outlooks for Woodward, with target price upgrades from major brokerages, including Goldman Sachs raising it to $255.00 and Truist Financial setting it at $294.00.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14, Zacks reports. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward updated its FY 2025 guidance to 6.500-6.750 EPS.

Woodward Stock Up 0.5%

Woodward stock opened at $258.50 on Tuesday. Woodward has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $259.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $238.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.47. The company has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. This represents a 66.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total transaction of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,739 shares in the company, valued at $14,944,998.15. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,096 shares of company stock worth $9,247,289. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 684.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the technology company's stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Woodward in the first quarter worth about $2,039,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WWD. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.25.

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.