Wabtec $WAB Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 219,515 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 58,173 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Wabtec worth $46,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Wabtec by 9.1% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 47,924 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,607,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,371,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Wabtec by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 229,233 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,990,000 after purchasing an additional 11,406 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Wabtec by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 172,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,801,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of WAB opened at $245.79 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $244.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.77. The stock has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.99, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.99. 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 quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.16%.

Wabtec declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.00.

Insider Activity at Wabtec

In other news, insider Sameer Gaur sold 1,150 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.62, for a total transaction of $302,013.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,155,904.54. The trade was a 8.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $15,926,227.10. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,512 shares of company stock worth $8,160,028. Insiders own 1.10% 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.