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

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Down 2.2 %

WWD traded down $4.20 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.53. The stock had a trading volume of 478,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,105. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50 day moving average is $180.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.42. Woodward has a one year low of $136.25 and a one year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total transaction of $1,795,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,066,684.94. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,400 shares of company stock worth $5,844,768 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.