Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys Shares of 17,702 Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 17,702 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,473,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth $2,039,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Woodward by 35.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 684.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Woodward by 2.7% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,536 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 781.6% during the second quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,835 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $327.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $339.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $304.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.02.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.26. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.68% and a net margin of 12.39%.The firm had revenue of $995.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $943.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. Analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total value of $1,489,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. The trade was a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $2,105,320.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,303.60. This trade represents a 42.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,908,210 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 price objective on Woodward and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Woodward from $329.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $366.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.89.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc (NASDAQ: WWD) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward’s product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.