Norges Bank Purchases New Position in Wabtec $WAB

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,916,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $409,039,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 288,609 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,604,000 after buying an additional 3,218 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new stake in Wabtec during the fourth quarter worth $185,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,399 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Wabtec stock opened at $256.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.94. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $184.26 and a twelve month high of $275.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $259.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Wabtec declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wabtec news, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total value of $970,624.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,347,722.67. This trade represents a 22.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 60,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.89, for a total transaction of $16,362,494.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 128,729 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,940.81. This trade represents a 32.10% 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. Insiders sold a total of 67,191 shares of company stock worth $17,922,608 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens upped their target price on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Wabtec from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Wabtec from $283.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wabtec presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.82.

Wabtec Company Profile

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.