Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Takes $18.65 Million Position in Wabtec $WAB

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 89,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,651,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFS Partners LLC grew its stake in Wabtec by 70.4% during the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in Wabtec by 44.2% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 163 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Wabtec by 30.2% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Wabtec during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Wabtec by 30.9% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 309 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WAB shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Wabtec from $231.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Wabtec from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAB opened at $198.01 on Wednesday. Wabtec has a 52 week low of $151.81 and a 52 week high of $216.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.550-9.150 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.04, for a total value of $350,681.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 133,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,966,260.32. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,281 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,240. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Wabtec

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.