Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $320.18.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Wabtec from $284.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Wabtec from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Wabtec from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In other news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.04, for a total transaction of $347,783.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,588 shares in the company, valued at $36,060,635.52. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Fetsko sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $952,965.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 37,380 shares in the company, valued at $10,960,563.60. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,452 shares of company stock valued at $1,903,524. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wabtec in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 103.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 163 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of WAB stock opened at $277.85 on Tuesday. Wabtec has a 52-week low of $194.93 and a 52-week high of $306.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.48.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 11.20%. Wabtec’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Wabtec will post 10.97 EPS for the current year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Wabtec’s payout ratio is presently 15.40%.

Wabtec Company Profile

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, doing business as Wabtec (NYSE: WAB), is a global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and services for the freight and passenger rail industries. The company develops technologies intended to improve the safety, efficiency, reliability and sustainability of rail transportation.

Wabtec’s products and services include locomotives, locomotive components and modernization programs, braking systems, train control and signaling equipment, power and propulsion systems, and advanced digital solutions.