Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP Reduces Stake in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 16.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 342,121 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 69,600 shares during the period. Woodward comprises 4.5% of Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP’s holdings in Woodward were worth $122,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WWD. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $603,663,000 after purchasing an additional 80,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $451,093,000 after buying an additional 106,390 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Woodward by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,060,000 after buying an additional 334,333 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Woodward by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 982,448 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $297,014,000 after buying an additional 76,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 12.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 904,404 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $323,705,000 after buying an additional 100,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Woodward from $404.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $423.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.50.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $419.76 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $393.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $376.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $233.31 and a twelve month high of $450.92. The company has a market cap of $25.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given 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 is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total value of $5,233,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This trade represents a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.66, for a total value of $104,344.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,601,320.02. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 15,629 shares of company stock worth $5,570,005 over the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward 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.