Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $228.69 and last traded at $227.3940, with a volume of 705648 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $226.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wabtec from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wabtec from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.00.

Wabtec Trading Up 0.4%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $212.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.86. The company has a market cap of $38.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.04. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.850-9.050 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, VP David L. Deninno sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.62, for a total transaction of $1,073,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 50,450 shares in the company, valued at $10,827,579. This represents a 9.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gregory Sbrocco sold 2,953 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.43, for a total transaction of $577,104.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,484,321.47. This represents a 14.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 33,916 shares of company stock worth $7,090,420 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAB. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wabtec by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Wabtec by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in Wabtec by 141.8% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 5,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 809.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 152,297 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,508,000 after purchasing an additional 135,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Wabtec by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 31,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,762,000 after buying an additional 3,899 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wabtec Company 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.