California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 69,092,660 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Wabtec position by 69.1 million shares in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 69.4 million shares, or 41.07% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 10 Buy ratings and two Holds; Wabtec has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $313.36.
• Wabtec exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.76 in EPS and $3.18 billion in revenue, while year-over-year revenue rose 17.5%. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 24,510.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,374,550 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,092,660 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 41.07% of Wabtec worth $18,703,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Wabtec during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Wabtec in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in shares of Wabtec by 125.9% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 131 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wabtec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Wabtec from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Wabtec from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wabtec from $318.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Wabtec from $284.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the 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 Transactions at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, insider Michael Fetsko sold 3,250 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $952,965.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Eric Gebhardt sold 7,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.27, for a total transaction of $2,124,817.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 19,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,731,918.31. This trade represents a 27.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,710 shares of company stock valued at $5,505,630. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wabtec Price Performance

WAB opened at $282.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $47.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.92. Wabtec has a 12 month low of $184.26 and a 12 month high of $306.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.12.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.16. Wabtec had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 10.59%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.27 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts expect that Wabtec will post 10.86 EPS for the current year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. Wabtec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.67%.

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.

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