Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.33.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of WAB stock opened at $179.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.17. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has a twelve month low of $139.12 and a twelve month high of $210.88.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.06). Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, research analysts predict that Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $161,553.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,145,630.30. This trade represents a 0.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 3.4% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,128,000. Camden National Bank acquired a new stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 10.4% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 5.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 278,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,665,000 after acquiring an additional 13,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Company Profile

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.