Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

by · The Markets Daily

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

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

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WWD

Woodward Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $165.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $162.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.89. Woodward has a 1 year low of $119.03 and a 1 year high of $188.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. The business had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $853.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Woodward will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WWD. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 18,932 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,601 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,597,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Woodward by 26.5% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,825 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the second quarter worth $548,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at $171,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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