Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Woodward from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial raised Woodward from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Woodward from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their target price for the company from $197.00 to $158.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued 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 $177.11.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $159.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Woodward has a 52 week low of $119.03 and a 52 week high of $188.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.36.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the first quarter worth $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward in the first quarter valued at $46,000. 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.