Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Truist Financial from $205.00 to $209.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. Truist Financial's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.13% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.75.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $4.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $186.39. The company had a trading volume of 457,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,089. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.52. Woodward has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The company has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. boosted its position in Woodward by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $221,133,000 after purchasing an additional 751,541 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $120,220,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 135.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,170,000 after buying an additional 570,124 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 44,162.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company's stock worth $86,187,000 after buying an additional 471,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Woodward by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $253,175,000 after acquiring an additional 367,300 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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