Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its price target lifted by analysts at UBS Group from $216.00 to $232.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.71% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on WWD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD traded down $4.80 on Tuesday, hitting $183.10. 576,298 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 446,265. Woodward has a 52 week low of $133.56 and a 52 week high of $201.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $179.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Woodward will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total transaction of $1,776,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,929.15. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock worth $10,752,072 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Woodward by 26.5% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,825 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the second quarter valued at $1,597,000. Williams & Novak LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at about $336,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 16.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently 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.