Brokerages Set Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Target Price at $406.45

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $406.4545.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WWD. Susquehanna initiated coverage on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “positive” rating and a $423.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 4,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. The trade was a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,648 shares in the company, valued at $1,295,040. The trade was a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,779 shares of company stock worth $6,337,168. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $451,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,390 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,436,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 169,174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,145,000 after buying an additional 22,555 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $1,164,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $251,365,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $356.58 on Friday. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $233.31 and a fifty-two week high of $450.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $397.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $379.18.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.08. Woodward had a return on equity of 21.89% and a net margin of 13.17%.The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. Woodward’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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 14.24%.

About Woodward

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.