Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $175.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Wabtec from $218.00 to $210.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Wabtec from $217.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $201.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.83.

Wabtec Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAB traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $213.22. 638,801 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,067,365. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $216.06. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $201.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $36.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.12.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 10.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,299 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $868,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,766,592. The trade was a 23.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Eric Gebhardt sold 6,151 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.39, for a total value of $1,244,900.89. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 18,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,784,085.83. This represents a 24.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,588 shares of company stock worth $19,832,997 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAB. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Wabtec in the fourth quarter valued at $10,566,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Wabtec in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,221,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Wabtec during the fourth quarter worth about $481,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Wabtec by 114.7% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,907 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087 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.