BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 107,314 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 374.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,996 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 107,314 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.08% of Wabtec worth $27,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 2.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,930,893 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,172,532,000 after purchasing an additional 493,437 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Wabtec by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,288,014 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $893,830,000 after buying an additional 30,489 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Wabtec by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,261,456 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $471,410,000 after buying an additional 186,248 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,974,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $393,252,000 after buying an additional 381,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter worth about $347,194,000. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Wabtec from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Stephens increased their price objective on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $300.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wabtec has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.00.

Wabtec Stock Up 1.0%

Wabtec stock opened at $261.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $230.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $44.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.01. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $151.81 and a twelve month high of $263.66.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.86 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Wabtec’s payout ratio is 18.16%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.71, for a total value of $441,786.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 118,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,177,816.79. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.51, for a total transaction of $433,095.69. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,041,277.16. This represents a 17.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,673 shares of company stock worth $3,420,576. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.