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 results on Monday. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward updated its FY 2025 guidance to 6.500-6.750 EPS.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD traded down $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $255.70. 182,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 521,856. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.04. Woodward has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $267.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.83. The company has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.26.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. The trade was a 66.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,711,033. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $242.13.

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.