What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for Woodward Q1 Earnings?

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Woodward in a note issued to investors on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the technology company will post earnings of $1.66 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.54. The consensus estimate for Woodward’s current full-year earnings is $6.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Woodward’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.99 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.21 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.81 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.08 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.32 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.44 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $10.55 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 price target on Woodward and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.67.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $293.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.78, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $273.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $304.72.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.26. Woodward had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 17.68%. The company had revenue of $995.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $943.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Woodward in the second quarter worth $201,555,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $184,721,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 122.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $228,849,000 after purchasing an additional 497,722 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 1,086.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 330,514 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $83,524,000 after purchasing an additional 302,666 shares during the period. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $73,406,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $2,105,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,303.60. This represents a 42.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total transaction of $1,489,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. This trade represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $11,908,210. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Woodward declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.