Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target to $430.00

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $440.00 to $430.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WWD. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Woodward in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $404.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Woodward from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Melius Research cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $388.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $422.00.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $331.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $346.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.25. Woodward has a twelve month low of $244.69 and a twelve month high of $450.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.86.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.08. Woodward had a return on equity of 21.89% and a net margin of 13.17%.The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 14.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, EVP Shawn McLevige sold 2,150 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total transaction of $767,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,428.36. The trade was a 40.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Woodward by 3.9% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 927 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 830 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,680 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,925,000 after purchasing an additional 5,148 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in shares of Woodward by 277.1% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 2,640 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc is a designer, manufacturer and service provider of control systems and components for the aerospace and energy industries. The company develops technologies that help regulate the flow of fuel, air and power in aircraft engines, industrial engines and other energy systems.

Woodward’s aerospace products include engine controls, fuel metering systems, actuation systems, air-management components and electric power systems used in commercial aircraft, business jets, military aircraft and other aerospace applications.