Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Share Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $285.36 and traded as high as $289.13. Wabtec shares last traded at $286.9080, with a volume of 778,404 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Wabtec from $338.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Wabtec from $293.00 to $292.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Wabtec from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Wabtec from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Wabtec from $318.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wabtec has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.18.

Wabtec Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $48.14 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $285.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.96.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.10. Wabtec had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 11.20%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wabtec news, insider Michael Fetsko sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $952,965.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,960,563.60. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory Sbrocco sold 952 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $285,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,900. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,289 shares of company stock worth $1,555,741. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAB. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wabtec by 348.6% in the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 233,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,806,000 after purchasing an additional 181,296 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Wabtec by 5.5% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,192,000 after purchasing an additional 4,878 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Wabtec by 15.0% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 351,769 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $87,735,000 after purchasing an additional 45,760 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 861.4% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,707 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,673,000 after purchasing an additional 41,849 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,905,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,131,390,000 after purchasing an additional 164,806 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wabtec

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.