Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Wabtec $WAB

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,944,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,365 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Wabtec worth $3,998,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Wabtec by 6.3% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 59,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,991,000 after buying an additional 3,542 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Wabtec by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,559 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,721,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Wabtec by 7.8% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 228,860 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,644,000 after acquiring an additional 16,510 shares during the last quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the third quarter valued at about $20,047,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Wabtec by 14.1% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 14,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAB. Wolfe Research upgraded Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Susquehanna set a $300.00 price target on Wabtec in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Wabtec from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.00.

Wabtec Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of WAB opened at $259.26 on Wednesday. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $151.81 and a twelve month high of $262.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $228.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.38.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.86 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.64%.

Wabtec declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In other news, insider Michael Fetsko sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.72, for a total value of $1,091,111.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,956,185.04. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.71, for a total transaction of $441,786.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,177,816.79. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,673 shares of company stock valued at $3,420,576 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Profile

Wabtec Corporation (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation) is a global provider of equipment, systems and services for the rail industry. The company supplies products and solutions to freight railroads, transit agencies and other industrial operators, focusing on technologies that improve the performance, safety and efficiency of locomotives and rail networks. Wabtec’s business spans new equipment manufacturing, aftermarket parts and services, and digital and control systems for rail operations.

Product and service offerings include locomotive systems and components, braking and air systems, propulsion and traction equipment, signaling and control technologies, and a range of aftermarket services such as maintenance, remanufacturing, parts distribution and fleet modernization.