Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Guggenheim

17 Sep 2026, 08:15 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD – Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on WWD. Susquehanna started coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “positive” rating and a $423.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Woodward from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Melius Research cut Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $388.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.17.

Read Our Latest Report on WWD

Woodward Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $318.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.87. Woodward has a fifty-two week low of $233.31 and a fifty-two week high of $450.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $364.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $374.74.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Woodward had a net margin of 13.17% and a return on equity of 21.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, EVP Shawn McLevige sold 2,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total transaction of $767,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,428.36. This represents a 40.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth $2,984,684,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $451,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,390 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 12.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 904,404 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $323,705,000 after purchasing an additional 100,465 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,060,000 after purchasing an additional 334,333 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter worth about $303,698,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Woodward, Inc (NASDAQ: WWD) designs and manufactures control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Its products help manage fuel, air, combustion, motion, actuation and electrical power in engines, turbines and other energy-conversion systems.

In aerospace, Woodward supplies systems and components for commercial aircraft, business aviation, military aircraft, helicopters and space applications. Its offerings include fuel metering and engine control systems, air-management products, actuators, electric power systems and other controls used in propulsion and aircraft subsystems.