Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives $189.78 Average Target Price from Analysts

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $190.11.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock opened at $183.66 on Thursday. Woodward has a 12-month low of $133.56 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $810.39 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. Woodward’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.64%.

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.