Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $793.00 to $622.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Curtiss-Wright traded as low as $502.31 and last traded at $508.1060, with a volume of 588702 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $553.35.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CW. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Curtiss-Wright in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $786.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $801.00 price objective on Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $724.00 to $768.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $860.00 target price on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Curtiss-Wright from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Curtiss-Wright currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $746.88.

Insider Transactions at Curtiss-Wright

In other Curtiss-Wright news, Director Larry D. Wyche sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.74, for a total transaction of $59,674.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,790.36. The trade was a 6.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John C. Watts sold 1,035 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.46, for a total transaction of $641,141.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,842.56. This trade represents a 27.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Curtiss-Wright

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CW. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in Curtiss-Wright by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 376 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Curtiss-Wright by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Curtiss-Wright by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Curtiss-Wright by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the period. 82.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Curtiss-Wright Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $606.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $687.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.88.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $924.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $926.17 million. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 20.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 15.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Curtiss-Wright Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Curtiss-Wright’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Curtiss-Wright’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.16%.

About Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a diversified manufacturer and service provider serving the aerospace, defense, commercial power and industrial markets. The company develops and produces highly engineered components and systems used in applications where reliability, performance and safety are critical.

Its products and services include aircraft and industrial actuation systems, sensors and controls, electronic components, embedded computing systems, data-acquisition equipment, valves, pumps, motors and other flow-control products.