Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

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

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on WAB. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.00.

Wabtec Price Performance

Shares of WAB opened at $264.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.79. Wabtec has a fifty-two week low of $151.81 and a fifty-two week high of $265.88. The stock has a market cap of $45.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.51, for a total value of $433,095.69. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,041,277.16. This trade represents a 17.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David L. Deninno sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.62, for a total value of $1,073,100.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 50,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,827,579. This trade represents a 9.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,625 shares of company stock worth $3,666,601 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 240.8% in the 2nd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,924 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 11,252 shares during the period. Varenne Capital Partners boosted its position in Wabtec by 39.5% during the second quarter. Varenne Capital Partners now owns 277,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,006,000 after purchasing an additional 78,394 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Wabtec in the second quarter valued at about $9,371,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in Wabtec by 9.1% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 47,924 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Wabtec in the second quarter worth about $8,201,000. 91.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.