Diversified Trust Co. Boosts Stock Position in Wabtec $WAB

Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,899 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co.’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $6,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wabtec during the second quarter valued at about $347,194,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Wabtec by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,069,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $659,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,083 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Wabtec by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,056,000 after purchasing an additional 896,900 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Wabtec by 194.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,033,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $207,146,000 after purchasing an additional 682,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Wabtec during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $121,612,000. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $2,896,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,926,227.10. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.10, for a total transaction of $282,725.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 190,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,369,866.40. This represents a 0.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,512 shares of company stock worth $8,160,028. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WAB shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 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. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.00.

Wabtec Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE:WAB opened at $241.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.99. Wabtec has a 1-year low of $151.81 and a 1-year high of $266.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $244.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

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

Wabtec declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

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

About Wabtec

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.