California Public Employees Retirement System Has $74.27 Million Stake in Wabtec $WAB

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 3.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 370,501 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 10,702 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $74,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 454.5% during the second quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 122 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Wabtec by 12,800.0% in the third quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Motco increased its stake in shares of Wabtec by 6,600.0% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 134 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Wabtec by 370.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 160 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Wabtec by 18,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 190 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wabtec news, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total transaction of $970,624.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,347,722.67. This represents a 22.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $2,896,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,487 shares in the company, valued at $15,926,227.10. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 33,310 shares of company stock worth $8,541,509 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WAB. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.00.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of WAB opened at $239.32 on Tuesday. Wabtec has a one year low of $151.81 and a one year high of $266.27. The company has a market cap of $40.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $242.81 and a 200-day moving average of $216.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.86 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec announced 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 buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wabtec’s payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Wabtec 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.