Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target Cut to $193.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $197.00 to $193.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.61% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WWD. UBS Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $226.00 target price (up from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.78.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded down $2.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $176.08. 34,797 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 411,478. Woodward has a 52 week low of $131.69 and a 52 week high of $201.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $173.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. The business had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $810.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of Woodward 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total transaction of $1,776,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,044,929.15. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072 in the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter worth $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Woodward by 101.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth about $69,000. 81.18% of the stock is 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.