Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $269.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAB. Bank of America lifted their price target on Wabtec from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $300.00 price target on Wabtec in a research note on Thursday, February 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Fetsko sold 5,058 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.72, for a total value of $1,091,111.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,956,185.04. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.71, for a total transaction of $441,786.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,177,816.79. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 33,192 shares of company stock valued at $8,379,272 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAB. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wabtec in the 2nd quarter worth $2,235,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 933 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 24.5% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 7,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Wabtec by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 797 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Wabtec by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 331,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $69,312,000 after purchasing an additional 24,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Stock Down 2.9%

Wabtec stock opened at $244.16 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.11. Wabtec has a one year low of $151.81 and a one year high of $266.27.

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

Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.16%.

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.