Analysts Issue Forecasts for Western Digital FY2026 Earnings

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Western Digital in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Muse forecasts that the data storage provider will post earnings of $5.15 per share for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Western Digital's current full-year earnings is $4.89 per share.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WDC. Barclays set a $50.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.37.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.70. 10,554,434 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,462,252. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.82.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,038 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.