LGT Group Foundation Takes Position in Wabtec $WAB

LGT Group Foundation acquired a new stake in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,030 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAB. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wabtec during the second quarter worth about $347,194,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the second quarter worth about $121,612,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 2.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,930,893 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,172,532,000 after acquiring an additional 493,437 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Wabtec by 36.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,614,789 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $345,371,000 after purchasing an additional 434,401 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Wabtec by 24.0% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,974,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $393,252,000 after purchasing an additional 381,728 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Stock Down 0.2%

Wabtec stock opened at $246.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Wabtec has a 1-year low of $151.81 and a 1-year high of $266.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.52. The company has a market cap of $42.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Wabtec declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Fetsko sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.72, for a total transaction of $1,091,111.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,956,185.04. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $2,896,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 60,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,926,227.10. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,192 shares of company stock valued at $8,379,272. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wabtec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wabtec presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.00.

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.