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

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $174.67.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. Truist Financial raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD opened at $165.71 on Tuesday. Woodward has a 12-month low of $119.03 and a 12-month high of $188.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The business had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $853.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.48%.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 4,177.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 385 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is 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.