Zacks Research Issues Positive Outlook for Woodward Earnings

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Woodward in a report issued on Monday, February 24th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the technology company will post earnings of $1.60 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.57. The consensus estimate for Woodward’s current full-year earnings is $6.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Woodward’s Q1 2026 earnings at $1.49 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.84 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Up 0.4 %

Woodward stock opened at $184.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40. Woodward has a 12-month low of $136.25 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $182.97 and its 200 day moving average is $173.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.76%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total value of $1,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,066,684.94. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,400 shares of company stock valued at $4,044,868 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Woodward by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,309,000 after purchasing an additional 110,569 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Woodward by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $253,175,000 after buying an additional 367,300 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,418,123 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $236,004,000 after buying an additional 38,774 shares during the last quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. raised its position in Woodward by 130.2% in the fourth quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $221,133,000 after acquiring an additional 751,541 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $216,771,000 after acquiring an additional 23,735 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Company Profile

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.