Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $395.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $404.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 185 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $65,675.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,648 shares in the company, valued at $1,295,040. The trade was a 4.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,629 shares of company stock valued at $5,570,005. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accel Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Woodward by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter worth about $212,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 3.6% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,866 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,899,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 550.0% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 91 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter worth about $57,599,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $392.88 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $387.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.45. The stock has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.86. 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 has a twelve month low of $233.31 and a twelve month high of $450.92.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.33%.

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.