Wabtec $WAB Stock: Ethic Inc. Reduces Holdings

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,227 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,802 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $16,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wabtec during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Wabtec in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wabtec in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Wabtec from $318.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Wabtec from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $284.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wabtec has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.18.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAB opened at $283.97 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $284.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Wabtec has a 1 year low of $194.93 and a 1 year high of $306.64.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.10. Wabtec had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Wabtec will post 10.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Fetsko sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $952,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 37,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,960,563.60. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory Sbrocco sold 952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $285,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,900. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,289 shares of company stock worth $1,555,741. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

About Wabtec

Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB), also known as Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, supplies equipment, systems and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries. Its products include locomotives, braking and train control systems, propulsion equipment, and components designed to support rail safety and performance.

The company also provides aftermarket services, including maintenance, modernization, parts and digital solutions for rail operators. Its offerings serve freight railroads, transit agencies and other customers in the global rail industry.

Wabtec was formed in 1999 through the merger of Westinghouse Air Brake Company and MotivePower Industries, bringing together businesses with roots in rail equipment dating to the 19th century.