StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.
A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WWD. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised shares of Woodward from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a hold rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $174.67.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Woodward
Woodward Price Performance
Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. The firm had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $853.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Woodward’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.
Woodward Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 17.48%.
Institutional Trading of Woodward
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Woodward by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $899,431,000 after acquiring an additional 77,654 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,380,384 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $240,711,000 after buying an additional 34,946 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Woodward by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 634,698 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,679,000 after buying an additional 74,734 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Woodward by 3.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 541,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $94,426,000 after buying an additional 16,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 94.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 434,385 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $75,735,000 after acquiring an additional 210,746 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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.
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