Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Position in Wabtec $WAB

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC more than doubled its Wabtec stake to 16,064 shares, worth about $4.0 million, during the first quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 91.69% of Wabtec.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $310.64; Morgan Stanley and KeyCorp recently raised their targets to $355 and $340, respectively.
• Wabtec exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.76 in EPS and $3.18 billion in revenue, with revenue up 17.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share.

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 117.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,064 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,684 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Wabtec were worth $4,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WAB. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 155,152 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $38,774,000 after acquiring an additional 6,815 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wabtec during the first quarter worth $14,150,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Wabtec in the first quarter valued at $2,677,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in shares of Wabtec by 39.7% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 10,386 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,596,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in shares of Wabtec by 18.7% in the first quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 65,312 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $16,322,000 after buying an additional 10,295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Wabtec from $318.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wabtec in a report on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $308.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Wabtec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.06, for a total transaction of $303,612.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 124,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,391,541.62. This represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Eric Gebhardt sold 7,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.27, for a total value of $2,124,817.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 19,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,731,918.31. The trade was a 27.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,671 shares of company stock valued at $4,527,193. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wabtec Price Performance

NYSE:WAB opened at $291.74 on Monday. Wabtec has a 12-month low of $184.26 and a 12-month high of $306.64. The firm has a market cap of $49.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company's 50-day moving average is $269.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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

Wabtec Announces Dividend

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

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.

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