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

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $209.00 to $228.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $226.00 price objective (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.67.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $187.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.87. Woodward has a twelve month low of $129.46 and a twelve month high of $201.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.72%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 7,913 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $1,385,803.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,015,921.43. The trade was a 40.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304 in the last quarter. 1.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Woodward by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Woodward by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Woodward by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in Woodward by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,624 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Woodward by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,734 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,928,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.