Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Woodward, with 10 buy, two hold, and one strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $419, above the stock’s reported opening price of $339.82.
• Woodward exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.52 EPS versus the $2.44 consensus, while revenue rose 21.2% year over year to $1.11 billion. Management issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $9.30–$9.50.
• Two company insiders sold shares, reducing their individual holdings, while institutional investors own 81.18% of the stock. Woodward also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, equivalent to a 0.4% annual yield.

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $419.00.

WWD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "positive" rating and a $423.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total transaction of $5,233,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This trade represents a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 2,150 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total transaction of $767,163.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,105,428.36. This trade represents a 40.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Woodward by 42,244.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 29,448,531 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,528,583,000 after buying an additional 29,378,985 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,984,684,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $603,663,000 after acquiring an additional 80,538 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $451,093,000 after acquiring an additional 106,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 334,333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD stock opened at $339.82 on Tuesday. Woodward has a one year low of $233.31 and a one year high of $450.92. The firm has a market cap of $20.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $385.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $379.29.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.08. Woodward had a return on equity of 21.89% and a net margin of 13.17%.The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Woodward will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.24%.

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.

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