Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Up 3.8% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)’s stock price rose 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $193.00 and last traded at $188.33. Approximately 114,683 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 468,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.45.

The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WWD. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $3,008,109.72. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $253,175,000 after purchasing an additional 367,300 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,418,123 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $236,004,000 after acquiring an additional 38,774 shares in the last quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. lifted its position in Woodward by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $221,133,000 after acquiring an additional 751,541 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $216,771,000 after purchasing an additional 23,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,225,750 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $203,989,000 after purchasing an additional 168,035 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Trading Up 3.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.52.

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.