Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for Woodward Q1 Earnings

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Woodward in a report issued on Monday, December 16th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the technology company will post earnings per share of $1.13 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.23. The consensus estimate for Woodward’s current full-year earnings is $5.98 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Woodward’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.44 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.57 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.70 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.84 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.47 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.62 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.98 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.90 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $7.80 EPS.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The firm had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.44.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD stock opened at $172.62 on Wednesday. Woodward has a 1-year low of $131.12 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $171.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.73. The company has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Woodward by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,093,275.35. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.64%.

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.