Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Short Interest Down 19.2% in November

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a decline of 19.2% from the October 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 451,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $226.00 price objective (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.67.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $180.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $169.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.04. Woodward has a 1-year low of $129.96 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total transaction of $1,776,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,929.15. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,309,000 after buying an additional 110,569 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,380,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $240,711,000 after acquiring an additional 34,946 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,502 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $219,321,000 after acquiring an additional 59,290 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 13.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 634,698 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,679,000 after purchasing an additional 74,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. bought a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $99,000,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.