Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $184.67.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $1,745,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,008,669.50. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter worth $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $187.29 on Wednesday. Woodward has a 1-year low of $129.46 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.87.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.64%.

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.