Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WWD. Truist Financial raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.67.

Woodward Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded down $1.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $171.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 44,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,921. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.96. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $126.31 and a fifty-two week high of $188.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $166.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.67. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,929.15. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 3.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,173 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Woodward by 290.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,946 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 5,913 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Woodward by 222.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 23,990 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after buying an additional 16,557 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Woodward by 6.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 28,741 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,430,000 after buying an additional 1,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 16.3% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 81,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,528,000 after acquiring an additional 11,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Company Profile

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.