Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Given New $175.00 Price Target at Barclays

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Barclays from $140.00 to $175.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.05% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Woodward from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Truist Financial upped their target price on Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Woodward from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.13.

Woodward Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of WWD stock traded up $4.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $173.18. 280,879 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,185. Woodward has a 52-week low of $105.18 and a 52-week high of $173.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $150.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The company had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $807.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Woodward’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Woodward will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total value of $1,002,060.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,914,324.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total transaction of $1,002,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,914,324.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,200 shares of company stock worth $8,244,976. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 34.7% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 28,230 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,843,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 28,741 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,430,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,510 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,975,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.