Have you been paying attention to shares of Woodward (WWD)? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 14.7% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $304.72 in the previous session. Woodward has gained 80.4% since the start of the year compared to the 22.6% move for the Zacks Aerospace sector and the 20.6% return for the Zacks Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry.
What's Driving the Outperformance?
The stock has a great record of positive earnings surprises, as it hasn't missed our earnings consensus estimate in any of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on November 24, 2025, Woodward reported EPS of $2.09 versus consensus estimate of $1.83.
For the current fiscal year, Woodward is expected to post earnings of $7.69 per share on $3.96 in revenues. This represents a 11.61% change in EPS on a 11.08% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $8.86 per share on $4.17 in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 15.17% and 5.22%, respectively.
Valuation Metrics
Though Woodward has recently hit a 52-week high, what is next for Woodward? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company has run ahead of itself.
On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as these give investors a variety of ways to comb through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). The individual style scores for Value, Growth, Momentum and the combined VGM Score run from A through F. The idea behind the style scores is to help investors pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.
Woodward has a Value Score of D. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are B and A, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of B.
In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 39X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is a premium to the peer industry average of 35.4X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 33.5X versus its peer group's average of 28.5X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 2.57. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.
Zacks Rank
We also need to consider the stock's Zacks Rank, as this is even more important than the company's VGM Score. Fortunately, Woodward currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) thanks to favorable earnings estimate revisions from covering analysts.
Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if Woodward meets the list of requirements. Thus, it seems as though Woodward shares could still be poised for more gains ahead.
How Does WWD Stack Up to the Competition?
Shares of WWD have been soaring, and the company still appears to be a decent choice, but what about the rest of the industry? One industry peer that looks good is Astronics Corporation (ATRO). ATRO has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value Score of D, a Growth Score of A, and a Momentum Score of C.
Earnings were strong last quarter. Astronics Corporation beat our consensus estimate by 16.67%, and for the current fiscal year, ATRO is expected to post earnings of $2.42 per share on revenue of $856.89 million.
Shares of Astronics Corporation have gained 9.1% over the past month, and currently trade at a forward P/E of 29.28X and a P/CF of 28.49X.
The Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry may rank in the bottom 60% of all the industries we have in our universe, but there still looks like there are some nice tailwinds for WWD and ATRO, even beyond their own solid fundamental situation.
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Woodward, Inc. (WWD): Free Stock Analysis Report Astronics Corporation (ATRO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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