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

Key Points

• Woodward has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 11 buy ratings, 1 strong buy, and 4 hold ratings across 16 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $393.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.27 versus expectations of $2.10 and revenue of $1.09 billion versus $1.01 billion expected. Revenue rose 23.4% year over year, and Woodward raised FY2026 EPS guidance to 9.15–9.45.
• Shares were trading near a 52-week high at $434.83, while insider activity showed notable selling, including a director sale of 14,700 shares. Institutional ownership remains high at 81.18%.

Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $393.00.

Several research analysts recently commented on WWD shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $450.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $404.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $434.83 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a PE ratio of 52.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. Woodward has a one year low of $233.31 and a one year high of $435.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company's fifty day moving average price is $371.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $354.18.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Woodward had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Woodward will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total transaction of $5,233,935.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. The trade was a 76.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.66, for a total transaction of $104,344.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,320.02. The trade was a 6.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,629 shares of company stock worth $5,570,005. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 82.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 1.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in Woodward by 1,977.4% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 644 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Dala Group LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the first quarter valued at about $317,000. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 58.4% in the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 16,806 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,015,000 after acquiring an additional 6,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

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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