Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Wabtec $WAB

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 6.5% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 191,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,137,000 after purchasing an additional 11,675 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 70.0% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 221,911 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,457,000 after purchasing an additional 91,381 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 13.6% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,016 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Wabtec by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,673 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.97, for a total value of $341,756.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,974,408.13. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,483 shares of company stock valued at $853,558. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAB has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Wabtec from $216.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Wabtec from $231.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Wabtec from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.88.

Wabtec Price Performance

NYSE WAB opened at $190.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $192.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Wabtec has a 1-year low of $151.81 and a 1-year high of $216.10.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. Wabtec had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 10.92%.The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Wabtec’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Wabtec has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.550-9.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.93%.

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.