Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $445.29 and last traded at $434.3780, with a volume of 1851283 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $430.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WWD. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Woodward in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $450.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $440.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on Woodward from $404.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $393.00.

Woodward Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $373.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $356.01.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.17. Woodward had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total transaction of $5,233,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. The trade was a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total transaction of $65,675.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,648 shares in the company, valued at $1,295,040. The trade was a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,629 shares of company stock worth $5,570,005. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,692 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 82.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 1,977.4% during the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 644 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Company Profile

Woodward, Inc (NASDAQ: WWD) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward’s product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.