Wells Fargo & Company Raises Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target to $172.00

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $156.00 to $172.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.03% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Woodward from $165.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.00.

Woodward Stock Up 8.4 %

NASDAQ WWD traded up $12.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $163.77. 479,933 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 384,358. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.01 and its 200-day moving average is $138.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36. Woodward has a twelve month low of $95.60 and a twelve month high of $169.99.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The business had revenue of $835.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $807.04 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total value of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,680,049.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 79.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 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.