Short Interest in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Declines By 21.0%

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 757,600 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the December 15th total of 959,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 449,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,929.15. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,313 shares of company stock worth $10,752,072 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter worth $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $183.66 on Thursday. Woodward has a 12-month low of $133.56 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.74 and a 200 day moving average of $169.49.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The firm had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.11.

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.