Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $354.80.

WWD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, Director Eileen P. Paterson sold 5,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.15, for a total transaction of $1,966,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $959,744.70. This represents a 67.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 47,450 shares of company stock worth $14,706,235 over the last three months. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $603,663,000 after purchasing an additional 80,538 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $451,093,000 after buying an additional 106,390 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,691,000 after buying an additional 8,307 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Woodward by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $322,060,000 after buying an additional 334,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 122.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $228,849,000 after acquiring an additional 497,722 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock opened at $387.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $403.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.30.

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

Woodward declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend 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 presently 16.12%.

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.