Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

WWD has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna started coverage on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “positive” rating and a $423.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.00.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $425.44 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $378.65 and a 200-day moving average of $362.57. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $233.31 and a fifty-two week high of $450.92. The stock has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a PE ratio of 50.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Woodward had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.66, for a total transaction of $104,344.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,320.02. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total value of $5,233,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This represents a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,629 shares of company stock worth $5,570,005. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $603,663,000 after purchasing an additional 80,538 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $451,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,390 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 0.6% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $354,691,000 after acquiring an additional 8,307 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Woodward by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,060,000 after purchasing an additional 334,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 982,448 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $297,014,000 after buying an additional 76,870 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc (NASDAQ: WWD) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward’s product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.