Wall Street Zen Downgrades Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) to Hold

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $175.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $217.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $218.00 to $210.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $201.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.00.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Wabtec stock traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $207.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,171,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,746. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Wabtec has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $210.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $197.68 and a 200-day moving average of $191.87. The firm has a market cap of $35.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.12.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.25. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.07, for a total transaction of $163,972.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 201,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,302,339.06. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 4,033 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.04, for a total transaction of $806,761.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,307,461.40. This represents a 25.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 103,474 shares of company stock worth $19,996,969 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 104,860 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $19,016,000 after purchasing an additional 5,423 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,082 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,215,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 380,793 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $69,057,000 after purchasing an additional 120,057 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,100 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,003,000 after purchasing an additional 7,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 66,188 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,004,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company's stock.

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.