Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD traded down $1.72 on Thursday, reaching $158.53. The stock had a trading volume of 253,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,114. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $144.45 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $184.45 and a 200-day moving average of $177.20.

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Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total value of $1,864,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,886,305.73. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 191.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Woodward by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 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.