Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Wabash National Corporation (NYSE:WNC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $14.48 and last traded at $14.46, with a volume of 232874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. National Bank Financial set a $20.00 target price on shares of Wabash National in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wabash National from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wabash National in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Wabash National in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Wabash National in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.67.

Wabash National Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $566.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.20 and a beta of 1.48.

Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.03. Wabash National had a negative net margin of 5.48% and a negative return on equity of 36.59%. The firm had revenue of $417.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $402.85 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.15) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Wabash National Corporation will post -2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabash National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 8th. Wabash National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.58%.

Institutional Trading of Wabash National

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wabash National by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Wabash National during the 2nd quarter valued at $337,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Wabash National in the 2nd quarter worth $1,999,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wabash National during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,038,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Wabash National during the second quarter valued at about $998,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.05% of the company’s stock.

About Wabash National

Wabash National Corporation (NYSE: WNC) is a North American manufacturer of transportation equipment and related products. The company designs and produces equipment used to move freight across highways, including dry van trailers, refrigerated trailers, platform trailers, tank trailers and truck-mounted tanks.

Wabash National also manufactures composite panels, flooring systems and other structural components used in trailers and truck bodies. Its products incorporate technologies such as the DuraPlate composite system, which is designed to provide durable, lightweight trailer construction.