Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target Raised to $255.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its price target boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $229.00 to $255.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial set a $267.00 target price on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.88.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $243.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.68. The stock has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. Woodward has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $244.87.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 18.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 500 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 49,827 shares in the company, valued at $11,958,480. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,250 shares of company stock worth $9,035,789. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Woodward by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Woodward

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.