Wabtec $WAB Stock: Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stake

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group increased its Wabtec stake by 620.8% in the third quarter, adding 1.56 million shares to hold about 1.81 million shares, worth roughly $519.6 million.
• Analysts give Wabtec a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $328.90; nine analysts rate it Buy and two rate it Hold.
• Wabtec beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $2.83 versus $2.73 expected, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $3.12 billion—below analysts’ revenue forecast.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 620.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,809,470 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,558,445 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 1.08% of Wabtec worth $519,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Wabtec by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,131 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,365 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. grew its position in Wabtec by 4.7% in the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 20,369 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,852,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Wabtec by 15.1% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 10,557 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Wabtec from $318.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Wabtec from $284.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Wabtec from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens increased their price objective on Wabtec from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Wabtec from $308.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wabtec presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $328.90.

Wabtec Price Performance

WAB stock opened at $297.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $286.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.93. Wabtec has a 12-month low of $194.93 and a 12-month high of $307.96.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.10. Wabtec had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 11.20%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wabtec will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Wabtec's payout ratio is presently 15.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory Sbrocco sold 952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $285,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,043 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,900. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 sale, the insider owned 37,380 shares in the company, valued at $10,960,563.60. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,289 shares of company stock valued at $1,555,741. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

About Wabtec

Wabtec Corporation NYSE: WAB, also known as Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, supplies equipment, systems and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries. Its products include locomotives, braking and train control systems, propulsion equipment, and components designed to support rail safety and performance. The company also provides aftermarket services, including maintenance, modernization, parts and digital solutions for rail operators. Its offerings serve freight railroads, transit agencies and other customers in the global rail industry.

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