Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) to “Moderate Buy”

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to a “moderate buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WWD. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.91.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $394.83 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $23.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $379.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $322.71. Woodward has a 52-week low of $162.85 and a 52-week high of $407.00.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $901.92 million. Woodward had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 1,850 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.37, for a total transaction of $711,084.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,625.15. The trade was a 37.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen P. Paterson sold 5,200 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.15, for a total transaction of $1,966,380.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,744.70. This trade represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,925 shares of company stock valued at $10,203,160 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $251,365,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $184,721,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 122.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $228,849,000 after acquiring an additional 497,722 shares in the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 136.2% during the 4th quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 686,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $207,452,000 after acquiring an additional 395,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 1,086.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 330,514 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $83,524,000 after acquiring an additional 302,666 shares in the last quarter. 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.