Woodward (WWD) vs. Its Competitors Head-To-Head Contrast

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) is one of 229 public companies in the “Aerospace & Defense” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Woodward to similar businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Woodward pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward pays out 14.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Aerospace & Defense” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.1% and pay out 38.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Woodward has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Woodward and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Woodward	$3.57 billion	$442.11 million	35.30
Woodward Competitors	$8.33 billion	$569.54 million	23.70

Woodward’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Woodward. Woodward is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.2% of Woodward shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.5% of shares of all “Aerospace & Defense” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Woodward shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of shares of all “Aerospace & Defense” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Woodward has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Woodward’s peers have a beta of 1.31, indicating that their average stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Woodward and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Woodward	13.17%	21.89%	11.38%
Woodward Competitors	-286.73%	-47.03%	-4.24%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Woodward and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Woodward	0	3	9	1	2.85
Woodward Competitors	2156	8256	12756	579	2.50

Woodward presently has a consensus price target of $413.82, indicating a potential upside of 30.41%. As a group, “Aerospace & Defense” companies have a potential upside of 32.64%. Given Woodward’s peers higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Woodward has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

Woodward beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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. These products are used on commercial and private aircraft and rotorcraft, as well as on military fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft, guided weapons, and other defense systems. It also provides aftermarket maintenance, repair and overhaul, and other services to commercial airlines, repair facilities, military depots, third party repair shops, and other end users. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), tier-one suppliers, and contractors, as well as through aftermarket sales of components, such as provisioning spares and replacements. The Industrial segment offers actuators, valves, pumps, fuel injection systems, solenoids, ignition systems, speed controls, electronics and software, and sensors. These products are used on industrial gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors, and reciprocating engines. This segment sells its aftermarket products, and other related services to OEMs through an independent network of distributors, as well as directly to end users. The company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.