Gregg Sengstack Sells 7,000 Shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Director Gregg Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $2,105,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,303.60. The trade was a 42.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Woodward Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WWD stock traded up $1.66 on Friday, hitting $303.30. 170,505 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 524,753. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.91. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $304.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.08.

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

Woodward announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Woodward’s payout ratio is 15.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a research report on Monday. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.67.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 463 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 4.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,036 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Woodward by 80.0% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,769 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the third quarter worth $2,340,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Woodward by 2.6% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 35,704 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,781,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.