FY2026 EPS Estimates for Western Digital Raised by Analyst

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald raised their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Western Digital from $5.15 to $5.81, surpassing the consensus estimate of $4.89.
• Western Digital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and initiated a stock repurchase program allowing for the buyback of $2.00 billion in shares, indicating confidence in the stock's value.
• The stock currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $78.74 from market analysts, despite a recent stock price decline of 2.7%.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Western Digital in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Muse now forecasts that the data storage provider will post earnings per share of $5.81 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.15. The consensus estimate for Western Digital's current full-year earnings is $4.89 per share.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $1.45 during trading on Monday, hitting $75.84. 5,897,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,523,656. The company has a market cap of $26.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.76 and a 200 day moving average of $53.84. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Western Digital announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $203,337,000 after buying an additional 2,842,822 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Western Digital by 107.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth $50,897,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $62,612,000. Hedge funds and other 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.