Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has $291.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WWD. Truist Financial set a $232.00 price objective on Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.75.

Woodward Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $233.33 on Tuesday. Woodward has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $235.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $191.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.07.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $115,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,561,640. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,050 shares of company stock valued at $13,267,077 over the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Woodward by 1.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Woodward by 1.2% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Woodward by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently 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.