Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

WAB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $303.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $318.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $289.82.

Wabtec Stock Performance

NYSE WAB opened at $259.14 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $264.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.02. Wabtec has a fifty-two week low of $184.26 and a fifty-two week high of $284.91.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.250-10.650 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 60,852 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.89, for a total value of $16,362,494.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 128,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,940.81. The trade was a 32.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sameer Gaur sold 1,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.50, for a total transaction of $285,107.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,158,047.50. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,586 shares of company stock worth $17,867,065. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wabtec

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Wabtec by 1.6% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Wabtec by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Wabtec by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Wabtec by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Wabtec by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% 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.