SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 254.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,176 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 869,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $213,012,000 after purchasing an additional 15,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter valued at $201,555,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 711,804 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $174,458,000 after buying an additional 31,434 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 639,139 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $156,646,000 after acquiring an additional 154,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 407,856 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,961,000 after acquiring an additional 27,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.33, for a total transaction of $888,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,319.75. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total value of $1,489,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at $4,508,413.80. This trade represents a 24.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,908,210. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $328.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.02. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.82 and a twelve month high of $338.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $300.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $943.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $345.00 to $378.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Truist Financial set a $366.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $329.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.89.

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.