Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

by · The Cerbat Gem

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.38.

View Our Latest Research Report on Woodward

Woodward Stock Down 8.0 %

WWD opened at $174.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward has a twelve month low of $144.45 and a twelve month high of $201.64. The company has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.12.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total transaction of $641,388.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 15.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 17,989 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,085,000 after acquiring an additional 2,468 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. Centiva Capital LP grew its stake in Woodward by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 5,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 27,255 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,673,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Maven Securities LTD acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at about $518,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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