Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.67.

Woodward Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $179.29 on Friday. Woodward has a 1 year low of $129.46 and a 1 year high of $188.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $167.82 and its 200-day moving average is $170.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 16.72%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total transaction of $1,745,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,008,669.50. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. bought a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $99,000,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 94.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 434,385 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $75,735,000 after acquiring an additional 210,746 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,345,438 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $207,359,000 after acquiring an additional 147,856 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,309,000 after acquiring an additional 110,569 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 17,072.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,760 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,165,000 after purchasing an additional 76,313 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.