Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded at Alembic Global Advisors

Key Points

• Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Woodward from a "neutral" to an "overweight" rating with a price target of $281.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.73% from its current price.
• The consensus rating for Woodward remains a "Moderate Buy" with several brokerages setting price targets ranging from $200.00 to $291.00.
• Woodward recently reported earnings of $1.76 per share, which exceeded analysts' expectations and showed a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.0%.

Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $281.00 price target on the technology company's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Woodward Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $248.04. 382,045 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 586,667. Woodward has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $267.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $249.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The company had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total value of $1,079,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 73,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,791,809.66. This represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,296 shares of company stock valued at $6,611,283 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Woodward by 191.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 2,314.3% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Woodward by 189.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

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.