Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) issued an update on its first quarter 2027 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.850-4.150 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 3.630. The company issued revenue guidance of $4.0 billion-$4.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.9 billion.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WDC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $536.96.
Get Our Latest Research Report on WDC
Western Digital Price Performance
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 50.22%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.
Western Digital Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.58%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital
In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total value of $427,941.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at $60,663,290.57. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Key Western Digital News
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.56, above the $3.31 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, topping expectations of $3.70 billion. Strong cloud and AI-related storage demand drove the results. Western Digital Q4 Earnings Beat as Revenue Jumps 44% on Cloud Demand
- Positive Sentiment: Fiscal first-quarter 2027 guidance also exceeded consensus, with projected revenue of $4.0 billion to $4.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.85 to $4.15. Management said AI customers are negotiating storage capacity needs as far out as 2031, providing substantial long-term demand visibility. Western Digital Says AI Customers Are Already Negotiating Storage Deals Through 2031
- Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive: Baird raised its price target to $630 and maintained a Buy rating, citing AI-driven hard-disk demand and improving profitability. Western Digital Earns Buy Rating as Analyst Lifts Price Target to $630
Institutional Trading of Western Digital
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 6,058 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 210.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 181,049 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $31,189,000 after purchasing an additional 122,779 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 142,676 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $24,579,000 after purchasing an additional 21,540 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $392,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.
Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.
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