Wabtec $WAB Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Wabtec stake by 13% in the fourth quarter, selling 160,159 shares and leaving it with 1,069,901 shares worth about $228.4 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CEO Rafael Santana selling 60,852 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan and insiders collectively selling 67,191 shares over the past three months.
• Wabtec reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS estimates with $2.71 per share and posting 13% year-over-year revenue growth, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target near $289.82.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,069,901 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 160,159 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.63% of Wabtec worth $228,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAB. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,069,340 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $659,939,000 after buying an additional 1,095,083 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $442,056,000 after buying an additional 896,900 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 194.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,033,304 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $207,146,000 after buying an additional 682,048 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 76.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,229,270 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $245,534,000 after buying an additional 532,121 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,160,000. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 60,852 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.89, for a total transaction of $16,362,494.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 128,729 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,940.81. This represents a 32.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total value of $970,624.31. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,841 shares in the company, valued at $3,347,722.67. The trade was a 22.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 67,191 shares of company stock valued at $17,922,608 in the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAB has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wabtec in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Wabtec from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $289.82.

Wabtec Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WAB opened at $261.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97. Wabtec has a one year low of $184.26 and a one year high of $275.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $258.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.77.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 10.52%.Wabtec's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.250-10.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding 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 typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Wabtec's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

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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