Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $209.00 to $228.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Woodward traded as high as $201.64 and last traded at $196.05, with a volume of 584700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.29.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reissued 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $226.00 target price (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.67.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $1,745,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,008,669.50. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 27,913 shares of company stock worth $4,907,304 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter worth $2,547,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 8.0% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,897 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,502 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $219,321,000 after purchasing an additional 59,290 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,734 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,928,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $168.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.96.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 16.64%.

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.