Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the transportation company’s stock.

WAB has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Wabtec from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Wabtec from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wabtec has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.78.

Wabtec Stock Performance

WAB traded down $0.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $203.60. 646,609 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,058,876. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Wabtec has a 1 year low of $151.81 and a 1 year high of $216.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.850-9.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.61, for a total value of $366,090.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,375,028.57. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pascal Schweitzer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.07, for a total value of $624,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,030,986.85. The trade was a 37.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,322 shares of company stock valued at $5,315,871. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wabtec

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $347,194,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 2,220.1% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 738,038 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $133,843,000 after acquiring an additional 706,227 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 194.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,033,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $207,146,000 after purchasing an additional 682,048 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter worth about $121,612,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wabtec by 76.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,229,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $245,534,000 after purchasing an additional 532,121 shares during the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wabtec Company Profile

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.