Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40, Briefing.com reports. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies updated its FY24 guidance to $7.00-$7.40 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 7.000-7.400 EPS.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:WAB opened at $163.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $167.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $143.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.89.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 40,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $5,655,595.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 123,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,298,931.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 40,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $5,655,595.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,019 shares in the company, valued at $17,298,931.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David L. Deninno sold 6,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.61, for a total value of $895,975.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 65,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,887,201.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,924,584. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Stephens upped their price target on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna upped their price target on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.18.

About Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology-based locomotives, equipment, systems, and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It offers diesel-electric, battery, and liquid natural gas-powered locomotives; engines, electric motors, and propulsion systems; and marine and mining products.