Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Given “Buy” Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reiterated their buy rating on shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $290.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $300.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.08.

Wabtec Trading Up 5.3%

Wabtec stock opened at $250.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $246.37 and a 200-day moving average of $220.68. 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 has a one year low of $151.81 and a one year high of $266.27.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last released 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 return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. Wabtec’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. On average, equities analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Wabtec’s payout ratio is 18.16%.

Insider Activity at Wabtec

In related news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.71, for a total transaction of $441,786.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,177,816.79. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nalin Jain sold 7,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.09, for a total value of $2,095,818.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,680,668.76. This represents a 55.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 31,512 shares of company stock worth $8,160,028 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wabtec

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in Wabtec by 12,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Motco lifted its position in Wabtec by 6,600.0% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 134 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 125.9% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 122.0% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wabtec in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% 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.