Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Rating Increased to Buy at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn currently has $285.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $262.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on WAB. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.45.

Wabtec Price Performance

Shares of WAB stock opened at $245.48 on Thursday. Wabtec has a fifty-two week low of $151.81 and a fifty-two week high of $266.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.16.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.86 billion. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 14.12%. Wabtec’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 forecast that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 positive change 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%.

Wabtec announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 3,500 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.21, for a total value of $924,735.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,668,785.21. The trade was a 25.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $2,896,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 60,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,926,227.10. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 31,512 shares of company stock worth $8,160,028 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in Wabtec by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 865 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Wabtec by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

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.