Zacks Research Has Negative View of Woodward FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has reduced its FY2026 earnings estimate for Woodward, Inc. to $7.30 per share, slightly down from the previous estimate of $7.31, while maintaining a "Hold" rating on the stock.
• Woodward has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.5%, scheduled for payment on September 4th.
• UBS and Deutsche Bank have both upgraded their ratings on Woodward, with price targets now at $299.00 and $291.00, respectively, indicating a positive outlook from several analysts.

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Woodward in a report issued on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the technology company will post earnings of $7.30 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $7.31. Zacks Research has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Woodward's current full-year earnings is $6.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Woodward's Q3 2027 earnings at $2.23 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.31 EPS.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on WWD. UBS Group raised their target price on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded down $2.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $249.84. The stock had a trading volume of 107,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 518,733. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $250.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $267.45. The firm has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.30.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,142,443.35. The trade was a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,296 shares of company stock valued at $5,544,333. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,626 shares of the technology company's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 220 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 506 shares of the technology company's stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,909 shares of the technology company's stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the technology company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.