Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WWD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Woodward from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.78.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock opened at $311.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.31, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.02. Woodward has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $317.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $280.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $259.00.

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

Woodward announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.80 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.33, for a total value of $888,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,319.75. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $2,105,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,303.60. This trade represents a 42.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $11,908,210. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Woodward by 1.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 387.2% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 12,061 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 16,261 shares during the last quarter. Caption Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at $566,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Woodward in the 1st quarter worth $1,468,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.