Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $189.78.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WWD. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $160.00 price target (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $226.00 target price (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock traded up $3.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $182.11. 398,312 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 485,102. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $131.69 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64. The stock has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $810.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Woodward will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,929.15. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Woodward by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company's stock worth $415,309,000 after purchasing an additional 110,569 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2.6% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,380,384 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $240,711,000 after acquiring an additional 34,946 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,502 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $219,321,000 after acquiring an additional 59,290 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 135.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock worth $170,170,000 after acquiring an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Woodward by 13.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 634,698 shares of the technology company's stock worth $110,679,000 after purchasing an additional 74,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.