Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas Cromwell Sells 5,000 Shares

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded down $3.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $294.42. 443,049 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 527,746. The company’s 50 day moving average is $270.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.56. The company has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $304.72.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $995.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $943.15 million. Woodward had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 17.68%. The business’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in Woodward by 2.6% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,586 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,221 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,553 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Woodward by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,036 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,626 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 target price on Woodward and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.67.

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.