Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Curtiss-Wright Corporation $CW

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its stake in Curtiss‑Wright by 3.3%, selling 5,812 shares and retaining 172,365 shares worth about $95.0 million per its latest SEC filing.
• Curtiss‑Wright beat Q1 consensus with EPS of $3.48 vs. $3.32 and 13.4% revenue growth, and raised FY‑2026 guidance to $14.90–$15.30 EPS and $3.7–$3.8B in sales, though revenue guidance is slightly below some street expectations.
• Insiders sold roughly 5,961 shares (~$4.04M) recently while institutional ownership is high at 82.7%; analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $677 as the stock trades close to its 52‑week high.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 172,365 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 5,812 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.47% of Curtiss-Wright worth $95,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,436,161 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $780,091,000 after purchasing an additional 16,962 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 0.3% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 791,531 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $429,754,000 after buying an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Curtiss-Wright by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 768,260 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $423,519,000 after acquiring an additional 39,515 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Curtiss-Wright by 5.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 740,033 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $401,794,000 after acquiring an additional 37,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 487,675 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $262,828,000 after acquiring an additional 99,182 shares during the period. 82.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Curtiss-Wright Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:CW opened at $743.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $702.97 and a 200 day moving average of $633.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.86. Curtiss-Wright Corporation has a 52 week low of $359.48 and a 52 week high of $749.00.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.16. Curtiss-Wright had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 13.84%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Curtiss-Wright has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.900-15.300 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 15.06 earnings per share for the current year.

More Curtiss-Wright News

Here are the key news stories impacting Curtiss-Wright this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat consensus — CW reported $3.48 EPS vs. $3.32 expected, with a 13.8% net margin and ROE near 19%. The company published its earnings slide deck for the quarter. Q1 Slide Deck
• Positive Sentiment: Curtiss‑Wright said it raised full‑year 2026 guidance on sales, operating margin, EPS and free cash flow, signaling management confidence in the recovery and cash generation profile. Press Release: Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support and analyst tone remain constructive: Hedge fund ownership is sizable and Wall Street consensus is a “Moderate Buy,” which can support multiple expansion given strong defense exposure. InsiderMonkey: Hedge Fund Ownership & Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Market and sector write‑ups highlight a strong defense tailwind but warn valuation is a test — positive revenue momentum may be offset by a premium multiple. Investing.com: Valuation Piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Local and sector outlets provided Q1 snapshots and pre‑earnings context; these are largely informational recaps of results and estimates. Q1 Snapshot
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre‑earnings coverage compared CW to aerospace peers and summarized street estimates ahead of the report — useful for context but not market‑moving now. Zacks: Peer Comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Updated FY‑2026 guidance is a bit mixed: management set EPS at $14.90–$15.30 (around consensus) but gave revenue guidance of $3.7–$3.8B, which is slightly shy of some street expectations—this could temper upside if future quarters show top‑line softness.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO K Christopher Farkas sold 918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $677.46, for a total transaction of $621,908.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $3,738,224.28. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn M. Bamford sold 3,225 shares of Curtiss-Wright stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.70, for a total value of $2,182,357.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,264,027.80. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,961 shares of company stock worth $4,039,279. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CW shares. Truist Financial set a $603.00 price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $748.00 price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Curtiss-Wright from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $650.00 to $723.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $718.00 to $728.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $677.00.

About Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corporation NYSE: CW is a diversified, global engineering company that designs, manufactures and services highly engineered products and integrated systems for the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Its offerings span a range of electromechanical, motion control and flow control technologies, including flight control and actuation systems, sensors and avionics components, pumps and valves, power conversion and heat exchangers, and platform integration solutions for marine and ground systems.

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