Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Truist Financial from $226.00 to $229.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.11.

Woodward Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded up $4.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $184.10. The stock had a trading volume of 336,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,882. Woodward has a 1 year low of $133.56 and a 1 year high of $201.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $175.17 and its 200-day moving average is $169.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.39. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. The company had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Woodward's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Woodward will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Woodward's payout ratio is 16.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

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.