Lazard Asset Management LLC Takes $41,000 Position in Wabash National Co. (NYSE:WNC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Wabash National Co. (NYSE:WNC – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Wabash National by 4.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 39,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Wabash National by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wabash National by 55.4% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,533 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in Wabash National by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 42,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in Wabash National during the first quarter worth about $403,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Vertical Research downgraded Wabash National from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Wabash National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Wabash National from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Wabash National from $17.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Wabash National from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.30.

Insider Transactions at Wabash National

In other Wabash National news, CEO Brent L. Yeagy sold 16,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $458,869.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 275,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,504,164.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brent L. Yeagy sold 94,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.55, for a total transaction of $2,616,175.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 338,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,312,946.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brent L. Yeagy sold 16,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $458,869.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 275,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,504,164.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 211,825 shares of company stock worth $5,679,494 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.64% of the company’s stock.

Wabash National Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:WNC opened at $27.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Wabash National Co. has a 12 month low of $12.23 and a 12 month high of $30.10. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.17.

Wabash National (NYSE:WNC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.13. Wabash National had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $657.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $668.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Wabash National Co. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabash National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Wabash National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.10%.

About Wabash National

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Wabash National Corp. engages in the design, manufacture and market of semi-trailers, truck bodies, specialized commercial vehicles, and liquid transportation systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Trailer Products, Diversified Products, and Final Mile Products. The Commercial Trailer Products segment manufactures van and platform trailers and other transportation related equipment to customers who purchase directly from the company or through independent dealers.