Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $289.8182.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAB. Stephens increased their price target on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $303.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $318.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Wabtec from $283.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

Insider Activity at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total transaction of $970,624.31. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,841 shares in the company, valued at $3,347,722.67. This represents a 22.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.77, for a total value of $306,764.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 127,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,648,083.82. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 67,191 shares of company stock worth $17,922,608 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the 4th quarter worth $409,039,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Wabtec by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,965,503 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,700,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,744 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Wabtec by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,069,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $659,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,083 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 68.6% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $442,056,000 after buying an additional 896,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 885,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $188,945,000 after buying an additional 692,773 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wabtec Price Performance

NYSE:WAB opened at $261.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $259.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.31. Wabtec has a 52 week low of $184.26 and a 52 week high of $275.84. The stock has a market cap of $44.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.250-10.650 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

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

About Wabtec

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.