Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WAB. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $224.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.00.

Wabtec Stock Down 1.6%

WAB stock opened at $236.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $242.37 and a 200-day moving average of $216.49. Wabtec has a fifty-two week low of $151.81 and a fifty-two week high of $266.27.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.86 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.Wabtec’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.10, for a total transaction of $282,725.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 190,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,369,866.40. This represents a 0.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $2,896,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 60,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,926,227.10. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 33,310 shares of company stock worth $8,541,509 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WAB. Colonial Trust Advisors lifted its stake in Wabtec by 454.5% in the 2nd quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 122 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its stake in Wabtec by 12,800.0% in the third quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in Wabtec by 125.9% in the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 122.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 6,600.0% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 134 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Wabtec

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.