Aberdeen Group plc Has $45.88 Million Holdings in Wabtec $WAB

Aberdeen Group plc cut its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,923 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 13,937 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.13% of Wabtec worth $45,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,069,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $659,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,083 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 68.6% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,056,000 after buying an additional 896,900 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 194.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,033,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $207,146,000 after buying an additional 682,048 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wabtec during the second quarter valued at $121,612,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Wabtec by 76.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,229,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $245,534,000 after buying an additional 532,121 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WAB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wabtec currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.08.

Wabtec Price Performance

NYSE WAB opened at $253.98 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $43.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.99. Wabtec has a 12-month low of $151.81 and a 12-month high of $266.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $247.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.85.

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

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. 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Wabtec’s payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

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

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.