Brokerages Set Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target at $354.80

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $354.80.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WWD. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Woodward in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Melius Research upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Thursday.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $361.78 on Tuesday. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $403.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $359.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Woodward announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.80 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eileen P. Paterson sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owned 2,538 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.62, for a total value of $831,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at $7,974,551.50. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 31,925 shares of company stock valued at $11,692,560 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $603,663,000 after acquiring an additional 80,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Woodward by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $451,093,000 after acquiring an additional 106,390 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $354,691,000 after purchasing an additional 8,307 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Woodward by 45.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 334,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 982,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $297,014,000 after purchasing an additional 76,870 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.