M&T Bank Corp Grows Stock Position in Wabtec $WAB

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Wabtec by 174.1% in Q4 to 18,397 shares (about $3.93M), part of institutional ownership totaling roughly 91.7% of the stock.
• Wabtec beat Q1 EPS at $2.71 but missed revenue (~$2.95B vs est. $3.08B); management set FY2026 guidance of 10.25–10.65 EPS, authorized a $1.2B buyback and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.31.
• Analysts are generally positive (average rating "Moderate Buy" with a ~$289.55 target), but recent insider selling (CEO sold 60,852 shares) and a ~12.9% rise in short interest could increase near-term volatility.

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 174.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,397 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,686 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Wabtec were worth $3,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,304,183 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $662,390,000 after buying an additional 116,329 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Wabtec by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,069,340 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $659,939,000 after buying an additional 1,095,083 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Wabtec by 1.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,304,832 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $462,057,000 after acquiring an additional 43,376 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wabtec by 68.6% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $442,056,000 after acquiring an additional 896,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Wabtec by 1.2% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,718,241 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $344,405,000 after acquiring an additional 19,952 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WAB shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $270.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Wabtec from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Wabtec from $283.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wabtec presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $289.55.

Key Wabtec News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wabtec this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and higher sales — Wabtec reported Q1 EPS of $2.71 and growth in quarterly sales, which investors view as proof of ongoing margin and revenue recovery. Wabtec posts higher quarterly sales and earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Price target raised by Wells Fargo — Wells Fargo lifted its target to $284 (from $270) and kept an "equal weight" rating, signaling analyst confidence in further upside versus current levels. Benzinga coverage of PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum — Wabtec recently crossed above its 20-day moving average, a short-term bullish technical signal that can attract momentum traders. Zacks: WAB broke out above 20-day MA
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry bullishness — Multiple pieces (Seeking Alpha, Zacks buy lists) highlight Wabtec as a 2026/2027 growth candidate and include it among "old-economy" stocks with more room to run. These narratives can support continued investor interest. Seeking Alpha: Wabtec has a head of steam Zacks: Buy 5 high-flying old-economy stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue slightly missed consensus — while EPS beat, reported revenue (~$2.95B) came in below some estimates (~$3.08B), which tempers the beat and leaves room for debate on top-line momentum. Yahoo Finance: Wabtec reports Q1
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call summaries flag growth but note headwinds — sell-side and summary coverage (TipRanks, transcripts) emphasize solid margins and guidance positioning while calling out cyclical/market headwinds. Earnings call transcript TipRanks: Earnings call highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose meaningfully in April — short interest increased ~12.9% to ~2.49M shares (~1.5% of shares outstanding), raising the short-interest ratio to ~2.0 days. Higher shorting can add selling pressure or volatility in the near term.

Wabtec Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WAB opened at $267.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $180.06 and a twelve month high of $275.84. The company has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.19.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 10.52%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.250-10.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Wabtec will post 10.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Wabtec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Wabtec's dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Wabtec

In related news, insider Sameer Gaur sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.62, for a total transaction of $302,013.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,155,904.54. This trade represents a 8.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 60,852 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.89, for a total transaction of $16,362,494.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 128,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,940.81. This trade represents a 32.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 92,364 shares of company stock worth $24,522,522 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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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