Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $289.8182.

WAB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Wabtec from $270.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $303.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $318.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Insider Activity

In other Wabtec news, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total transaction of $970,624.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,347,722.67. This trade represents a 22.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 60,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.89, for a total transaction of $16,362,494.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 128,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,940.81. This trade represents a 32.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,191 shares of company stock valued at $17,922,608. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WAB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wabtec during the fourth quarter worth $409,039,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,965,503 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,700,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,744 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 55.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,095,083 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $442,056,000 after purchasing an additional 896,900 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 885,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $188,945,000 after purchasing an additional 692,773 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wabtec Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WAB opened at $261.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Wabtec has a 12-month low of $184.26 and a 12-month high of $275.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $258.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Wabtec’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.250-10.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Wabtec declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.