Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Stock Position in Wabtec $WAB

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 341,727 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,505 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $92,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wabtec in the second quarter valued at $3,741,077,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wabtec during the 4th quarter worth $409,039,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Wabtec by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,965,503 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,700,238,000 after buying an additional 1,344,744 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Wabtec in the 2nd quarter worth $212,692,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Wabtec in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,228,000. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Wabtec from $284.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Wabtec from $311.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Wabtec from $318.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens raised their price objective on Wabtec from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Wabtec from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.36.

Insider Activity

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.04, for a total transaction of $347,783.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,060,635.52. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 Wabtec stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $952,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 37,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,960,563.60. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 21,036 shares of company stock valued at $6,113,542 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Price Performance

Shares of WAB stock opened at $300.63 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $281.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.27. The firm has a market cap of $50.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.93. Wabtec has a 1-year low of $184.26 and a 1-year high of $306.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.16. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.600-10.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.67%.

About Wabtec

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.