Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives $177.11 Average PT from Brokerages

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $177.11.

Several brokerages recently commented on WWD. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $197.00 to $158.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock opened at $163.23 on Friday. Woodward has a 12 month low of $119.03 and a 12 month high of $188.35. The firm has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $166.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Woodward by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,809 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Woodward by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,293 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 50,736 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,906,000 after buying an additional 7,551 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.