Key Points
- CEO sale: Charles Blankenship sold 5,000 Woodward shares on March 5 at an average price of $384.75 for proceeds of $1,923,750, trimming his stake by 7.06% to 65,829 shares (≈$25.33M).
- Strong quarterly results and capital return: Woodward beat estimates with $2.17 EPS and $996.45M revenue (revenue +28.8% YoY), set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.60 EPS, and its board authorized a $1.8B share buyback (up to ~11.6% of shares).
- Dividend increase and valuation: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 (annualized $1.28, yield ~0.3%), while the stock trades near a 12‑month high with a market cap of ~$22.9B and a P/E of ~48.4.
Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) CEO Charles Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.75, for a total value of $1,923,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,327,707.75. The trade was a 7.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
Woodward Trading Up 2.9%
Shares of Woodward stock opened at $384.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $355.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $297.12. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $403.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.
Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $996.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $901.92 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 12.89%.The business's revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Woodward declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Woodward Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This is an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward's payout ratio is 16.12%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have commented on WWD. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Melius Research raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $354.80.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Woodward
Institutional Trading of Woodward
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Woodward by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $603,663,000 after purchasing an additional 80,538 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company's stock worth $451,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,390 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 0.6% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company's stock worth $354,691,000 after buying an additional 8,307 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Woodward by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company's stock worth $322,060,000 after buying an additional 334,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Woodward by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 982,448 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $297,014,000 after buying an additional 76,870 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Woodward
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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