Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $419.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Woodward from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $423.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, EVP Shawn McLevige sold 2,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total value of $767,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,428.36. The trade was a 40.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tribune Investment Group LP purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,752,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 7.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 106,390 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,984,684,000. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,436,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 169,174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,145,000 after purchasing an additional 22,555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock opened at $346.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $376.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $377.82. Woodward has a 12-month low of $233.31 and a 12-month high of $450.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.08. Woodward had a net margin of 13.17% and a return on equity of 21.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Woodward will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 14.24%.

Woodward Company 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.