Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded at Alembic Global Advisors

Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $281.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Woodward Stock Up 0.1%

WWD opened at $248.04 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $249.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. Woodward has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.Woodward’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 17.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,296 shares of company stock worth $6,611,283. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,626 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Woodward by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 220 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Woodward by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 506 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Woodward by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,909 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.