Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on WWD. Truist Financial raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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 reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.67.

Woodward Trading Down 1.9 %

Woodward stock opened at $169.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.38. Woodward has a one year low of $126.31 and a one year high of $188.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $167.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.86.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.72%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,008,669.50. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,913 shares of company stock worth $4,907,304. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $31,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Woodward by 101.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

About Woodward

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.