Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $218.52 and last traded at $218.47, with a volume of 422944 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $210.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.75.

Woodward Stock Up 3.7%

The stock has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $185.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.44.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The company had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total value of $1,071,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,623,585.64. The trade was a 6.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,700 shares of company stock valued at $7,851,450. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Woodward by 1.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 1.2% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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