Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target Raised to $232.00 at UBS Group

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $216.00 to $232.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

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

Woodward Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $184.50 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $179.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Woodward has a one year low of $133.56 and a one year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 16.64%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Woodward by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.