Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Hits New 12-Month High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $169.99 and last traded at $164.66, with a volume of 374686 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.07.

The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The company had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Woodward’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 21.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WWD. StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total value of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,500 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.86, for a total transaction of $208,290.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,850,934.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total value of $5,494,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,680,049.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 79.3% in the fourth 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 period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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.