Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Curtiss-Wright Co. (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $341.94, but opened at $360.00. Curtiss-Wright shares last traded at $347.15, with a volume of 45,192 shares changing hands.

The aerospace company reported $3.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.15. Curtiss-Wright had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 13.20%.

Curtiss-Wright Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. Curtiss-Wright's payout ratio is 7.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CW. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Curtiss-Wright from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $370.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Curtiss-Wright from $334.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Curtiss-Wright in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $333.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $452.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $386.86.

Insider Activity at Curtiss-Wright

In other Curtiss-Wright news, CEO Lynn M. Bamford sold 7,129 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.80, for a total transaction of $2,629,175.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,688 shares in the company, valued at $10,580,134.40. This represents a 19.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul J. Ferdenzi sold 1,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.98, for a total transaction of $661,690.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,386,166.90. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 116 shares of company stock worth $35,278 and have sold 23,064 shares worth $8,157,322. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Curtiss-Wright

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CW. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Curtiss-Wright in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Curtiss-Wright in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Curtiss-Wright in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Curtiss-Wright in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.71% of the company's stock.

Curtiss-Wright Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.19. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $356.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $342.02.

About Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered products, solutions, and services mainly to aerospace and defense, commercial power, process, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power.