Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Wabtec has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 12 research firms, with an average 12-month price target of about $289.82.
• The company recently reported Q2 earnings of $2.71 per share, beating expectations, though revenue of $2.95 billion came in below estimates even as sales rose 13% year over year.
• Wabtec also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, while recent filings showed insider selling by CEO Rafael Santana and others, and institutional ownership remains high at 91.69%.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $289.8182.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WAB shares. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $303.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Wabtec from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $318.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wabtec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st.

Wabtec Price Performance

WAB traded up $1.73 on Friday, hitting $261.50. 553,958 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,780. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $264.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.37. 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 one year low of $184.26 and a one year high of $284.91. The firm has a market cap of $44.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Wabtec Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In related news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.07, for a total value of $304,787.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,212,071.98. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sameer Gaur sold 1,082 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.50, for a total transaction of $285,107.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,158,047.50. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 66,586 shares of company stock valued at $17,867,065 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tema ETFs LLC increased its stake in shares of Wabtec by 9.3% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 8,533 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Wabtec by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Wabtec by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 48,297 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,021,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wabtec by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 2,725 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,160 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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