Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Reaches New 1-Year High at $180.53

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $180.53 and last traded at $180.53, with a volume of 608 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $178.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Woodward from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.13.

Woodward Stock Up 0.1 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The business had revenue of $835.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Woodward’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,040. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total transaction of $1,002,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,914,324.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,700 shares of company stock worth $8,036,686 in the last three months. 1.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 79.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Woodward in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.