Analysts Set Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target at $197.38

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $197.38.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WWD. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ:WWD traded down $4.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $183.29. 381,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 462,361. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $186.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.47. Woodward has a 1-year low of $144.45 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is 18.76%.

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.