Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Short Interest Down 19.0% in March

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,852,504 shares, a drop of 19.0% from the February 26th total of 2,287,421 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 916,528 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WAB shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.08.

Wabtec Price Performance

Shares of WAB traded up $12.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $250.00. 1,389,494 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 841,570. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $246.37 and a 200-day moving average of $220.68. Wabtec has a 52 week low of $151.81 and a 52 week high of $266.27. The stock has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.86 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.The business’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wabtec’s payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Insider Activity at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total transaction of $970,624.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,347,722.67. The trade was a 22.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nalin Jain sold 7,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,680,668.76. This trade represents a 55.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 31,512 shares of company stock worth $8,160,028 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wabtec

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAB. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 12,800.0% during the third quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Motco raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 6,600.0% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 134 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 125.9% in the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 122.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in Wabtec during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.