Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target Raised to $255.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $229.00 to $255.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.10% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $267.00 target price on Woodward and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.88.

Woodward Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of WWD traded up $2.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $240.35. The company had a trading volume of 208,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 476,696. The stock has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $205.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.51. 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 has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $241.70.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. This represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total value of $1,071,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,623,585.64. This trade represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,550 shares of company stock valued at $9,677,177. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Woodward by 191.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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