UBS on Tuesday raised its price target for Woodward Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) to $417.00 from $378.00 and left its Buy rating intact, citing a strong quarterly performance and an across-the-board guidance lift. The company is trading at $381.58, with a market capitalization of $22.66 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.61.
The analyst action follows results that exceeded consensus and a management update that raised outlooks for each of Woodward’s businesses, even as management characterized its view for the second through fourth fiscal quarters as conservative. Shares are trading close to their 52-week high after a roughly 75% gain over the past year.
UBS emphasized that end-market demand remains healthy in both Aerospace and Industrial verticals. The firm highlighted Woodward’s advantages from content gain multipliers and pricing power, and pointed to investments in productivity that are increasingly visible in margin improvement metrics.
Platform-based analysis from InvestingPro noted a divergence between the stock’s market price and its calculated Fair Value, indicating the shares appear overvalued on that basis. At the same time, InvestingPro’s Financial Health score for Woodward is rated as "GREAT."
UBS argued it does not see a near-term deterioration in the favorable dynamics and expressed expectations that earnings will outperform consensus "for potentially years to come," a projection the firm attached even while recognizing the impact of what it called "abnormally strong spares sales" in the first fiscal quarter.
Woodward’s operational profile includes the design, manufacture, and service of control systems and components for aerospace and industrial applications. Its product set serves aircraft engines, industrial turbines, and electrical power systems.
On the company’s recent quarterly scorecard, Woodward reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 results that outpaced market expectations. The company posted earnings per share of $2.17 versus a projected $1.66, and revenue of $996 million compared with an anticipated $890.37 million. These figures underpinned the positive reassessment from UBS and contributed to market activity following the announcement.
Separately, the firm’s dividend track record remains notable: Woodward has paid dividends for 54 consecutive years, a detail UBS and market participants cite when assessing the company’s long-term financial stability.
Context and market implications
The combination of stronger-than-expected quarterly results, raised guidance across all business segments, and visible margin gains from productivity initiatives form the basis for UBS’s higher price target. The company’s performance and the analyst commentary are of interest to investors in aerospace supply chains, industrial equipment manufacturers, and dividend-focused equity strategies.
Summary of the move
- UBS raised Woodward’s price target to $417 from $378 and kept a Buy rating.
- Company traded at $381.58 with a market cap of $22.66 billion and a P/E of 52.61.
- Q1 fiscal 2026 EPS of $2.17 and revenue of $996 million beat expectations.
Analysts and investors remain attentive to subsequent quarters and how much of the first-quarter strength was driven by unusually high spares sales versus durable improvement in end-market demand and operational leverage.