Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target Raised to $205.00

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $193.00 to $205.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.92% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.38.

Woodward Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ WWD opened at $189.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.89. Woodward has a one year low of $134.82 and a one year high of $201.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $179.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.68.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Woodward will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 7,913 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $1,385,803.69. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,015,921.43. This trade represents a 40.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,313 shares of company stock worth $9,007,072 in the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during 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 during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.