StockNews.com Upgrades Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) to “Buy”

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

WWD has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.67.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $167.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $162.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.51. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.37. Woodward has a 12 month low of $119.03 and a 12 month high of $188.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Woodward will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 9.2% in the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 18,932 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter valued at about $1,597,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter valued at about $548,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter valued at about $171,000. 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.