Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Raises Position in Wabtec $WAB

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 47.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,710 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 3.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,304,183 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $662,390,000 after acquiring an additional 116,329 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 1.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,304,832 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $462,057,000 after acquiring an additional 43,376 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 68.6% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $442,056,000 after buying an additional 896,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 1.2% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,718,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $344,405,000 after buying an additional 19,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nalin Jain sold 7,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.09, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 55.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 60,487 shares in the company, 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 sold 31,512 shares of company stock valued at $8,160,028 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Susquehanna set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.08.

Wabtec Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Wabtec stock opened at $255.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $248.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.03. Wabtec has a 1 year low of $157.18 and a 1 year high of $266.27. The stock has a market cap of $43.56 billion, a PE ratio of 37.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is 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.