Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives Buy Rating from Truist Financial

Truist Financial reissued their buy rating on shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $226.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $187.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WWD. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.67.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock opened at $187.29 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $168.14 and its 200-day moving average is $170.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.38. Woodward has a 1 year low of $129.46 and a 1 year high of $201.64.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 7,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,015,921.43. This represents a 40.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Woodward by 3.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Woodward by 3.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Woodward by 2.1% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Woodward by 0.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,734 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,928,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 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.