John Cohn Sells 2,250 Shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Director John Cohn sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.62, for a total transaction of $831,645.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at $7,974,551.50. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Woodward Stock Up 3.1%

WWD stock opened at $388.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $318.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.93, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.00. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $392.66.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $996.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $901.92 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 12.89%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

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

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 893 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Woodward by 218.6% during the 4th quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 25,631 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 17,586 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 131.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 282 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,130 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on Woodward from $378.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Woodward from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.80.

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.