Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $201.80 and last traded at $200.25, with a volume of 59099 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $196.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Woodward Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.72. The company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,216.80. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,700 shares of company stock valued at $5,751,700. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. lifted its stake in Woodward by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $221,133,000 after acquiring an additional 751,541 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $120,220,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 44,162.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,187,000 after acquiring an additional 471,217 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $253,175,000 after acquiring an additional 367,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $31,187,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.