Morgan Stanley Boosts Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Price Target to $226.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised Wabtec's price target from $220.00 to $226.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.58% from the stock's current price, maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• KeyCorp and Susquehanna also increased their target prices for Wabtec recently, with KeyCorp raising its target to $240.00 and Susquehanna to $235.00, reflecting positive sentiment among multiple analysts.
• Wabtec reported earnings of $2.27 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while its revenue was noted at $2.71 billion, slightly below expectations.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $226.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the transportation company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.58% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on WAB. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Wabtec from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price target on Wabtec from $231.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Wabtec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Wabtec from $175.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.71.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of WAB opened at $197.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $33.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $206.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Wabtec has a 1 year low of $147.66 and a 1 year high of $216.10.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 10.92%. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Wabtec

In other news, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 4,033 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.04, for a total transaction of $806,761.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,307,461.40. The trade was a 25.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 68,833 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.70, for a total transaction of $13,195,286.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 145,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,914,587.20. This represents a 32.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,474 shares of company stock valued at $19,283,505. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wabtec

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAB. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,163 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,781,000 after purchasing an additional 19,600 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 4th quarter valued at $1,221,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 4th quarter valued at $481,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 313,459 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $56,846,000 after purchasing an additional 9,041 shares during the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Wabtec

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology-based locomotives, equipment, systems, and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It offers diesel-electric, battery, and liquid natural gas-powered locomotives; engines, electric motors, and propulsion systems; and marine and mining products.

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