Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.67.

Woodward Trading Down 0.6 %

WWD traded down $1.07 on Thursday, hitting $171.82. The company had a trading volume of 44,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,921. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.67. Woodward has a 12-month low of $126.31 and a 12-month high of $188.35.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued 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 0.58%. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 16.72%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,929.15. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Woodward by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $899,431,000 after purchasing an additional 77,654 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 2.6% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,380,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $240,711,000 after purchasing an additional 34,946 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 13.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 634,698 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,679,000 after acquiring an additional 74,734 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Woodward by 3.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 541,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $94,426,000 after acquiring an additional 16,083 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 94.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 434,385 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $75,735,000 after purchasing an additional 210,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.