Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target Raised to $260.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has raised its price target for Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from $200 to $260, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which indicates a potential downside of 0.50% from the current price.
• Other analysts have also updated their ratings and price targets, with Goldman Sachs rating the stock as a "buy" at a price target of $255 and Truist Financial increasing its target to $294.
• Woodward reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.62, with revenue rising to $915.45 million for the quarter.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Barclays from $200.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the technology company's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.50% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.63.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded up $2.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $261.31. 100,734 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 523,311. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $242.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.62. Woodward has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This represents 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 through this link. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,944,998.15. This trade represents a 3.65% 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Woodward by 32.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 220 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,909 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.2% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.