Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial raised shares of Woodward from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Woodward from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Woodward from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their target price for the company from $197.00 to $158.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $177.11.

Woodward Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $159.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.41 and a 200-day moving average of $164.36. Woodward has a 52-week low of $119.03 and a 52-week high of $188.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter worth approximately $1,597,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Woodward by 26.5% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,825 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the second quarter worth $548,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Woodward during the second quarter valued at about $171,000. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the second quarter valued at about $209,000. Hedge funds and other 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.