Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Short Interest Up 12.9% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 12.9% in April to 2,493,303 shares (about 1.5% of float), implying a short-interest ratio of roughly 2.0 days based on average daily volume.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently, with Rogerio Mendonca and Nalin Jain among the sellers and a total of 92,364 shares sold worth $24.5 million over the past 90 days.
• Wabtec beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.71 vs. $2.62), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 10.25–10.65, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31, and authorized a $1.2 billion share buyback program.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,493,303 shares, a growth of 12.9% from the March 31st total of 2,207,643 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,245,609 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Wabtec

In related news, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.21, for a total value of $924,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,668,785.21. This trade represents a 25.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nalin Jain sold 7,936 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.09, for a total transaction of $2,095,818.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,680,668.76. This trade represents a 55.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,364 shares of company stock worth $24,522,522. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Wabtec by 5,520.0% in the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 281 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Wabtec by 15.0% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 351,769 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $87,735,000 after buying an additional 45,760 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wabtec in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Wabtec by 8.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,439 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $10,856,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in Wabtec by 1.0% in the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 8,800 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,199,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wabtec in a report on Monday, April 20th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Wabtec from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $262.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $270.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $289.82.

Wabtec Stock Performance

NYSE WAB opened at $270.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.27, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $255.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.70. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $183.98 and a twelve month high of $275.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Wabtec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Wabtec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Wabtec declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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