Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WAB. Wolfe Research raised Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.00.

Wabtec Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAB opened at $239.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $151.81 and a twelve month high of $266.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.80.

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

Wabtec announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Wabtec

In related news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.71, for a total value of $441,786.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,749 shares in the company, valued at $29,177,816.79. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nalin Jain sold 7,936 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.09, for a total transaction of $2,095,818.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,680,668.76. The trade was a 55.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 33,310 shares of company stock valued at $8,541,509 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Colonial Trust Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 454.5% in the 2nd quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its stake in Wabtec by 12,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Wabtec by 125.9% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Wabtec by 122.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motco increased its holdings in Wabtec by 6,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 134 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wabtec Company 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.