Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 132,091 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 925,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 132,091 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $197,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the 4th quarter worth approximately $409,039,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,069,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $659,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,083 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,056,000 after acquiring an additional 896,900 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 194.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,033,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $207,146,000 after acquiring an additional 682,048 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 76.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,229,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $245,534,000 after acquiring an additional 532,121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.77, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total value of $970,624.31. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,347,722.67. This represents a 22.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 67,191 shares of company stock valued at $17,922,608 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAB. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $303.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Stephens increased their target price on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Wabtec from $283.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.82.

Wabtec Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of WAB opened at $260.77 on Friday. Wabtec has a 1 year low of $184.26 and a 1 year high of $275.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.22. The stock has a market cap of $44.25 billion, a PE ratio of 36.88, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Wabtec announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

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

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.