Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Up 0.4 %

WWD stock opened at $184.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Woodward has a 12 month low of $136.25 and a 12 month high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total value of $1,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,066,684.94. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,400 shares of company stock valued at $4,044,868 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. grew its holdings in Woodward by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $221,133,000 after buying an additional 751,541 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,220,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 worth $170,170,000 after acquiring an additional 570,124 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $253,175,000 after purchasing an additional 367,300 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,187,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.