Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

WAB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $175.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $231.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.71.

Wabtec Stock Performance

NYSE WAB opened at $191.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $203.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.77. The stock has a market cap of $32.74 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. Wabtec has a fifty-two week low of $151.81 and a fifty-two week high of $216.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 4,033 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.04, for a total transaction of $806,761.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,307,461.40. This represents a 25.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David L. Deninno sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $603,150.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 60,450 shares in the company, valued at $12,153,472.50. This trade represents a 4.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,141 shares of company stock valued at $4,071,334. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wabtec

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAB. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wabtec during the fourth quarter valued at about $481,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Wabtec in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,221,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Wabtec in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Wabtec in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Wabtec by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 630 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

About Wabtec

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology-based locomotives, equipment, systems, and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It offers diesel-electric, battery, and liquid natural gas-powered locomotives; engines, electric motors, and propulsion systems; and marine and mining products.