Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Downgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $158.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $197.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their target price on Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $173.22.

Woodward Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ WWD opened at $152.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Woodward has a 52 week low of $119.03 and a 52 week high of $188.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $178.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.41.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The firm had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $853.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Woodward will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s payout ratio is 17.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 22,074 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Woodward by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 180,389 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 2.2% during the second quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 29,641 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,169,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Woodward by 7.7% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,699 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 17.8% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 75,311 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,133,000 after purchasing an additional 11,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.