Rothschild & Co Redburn Upgrades Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) to Buy

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) was upgraded by analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $285.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $262.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.11% from the company’s current price.

WAB has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wabtec has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.45.

Wabtec Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of WAB opened at $241.30 on Thursday. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $151.81 and a twelve month high of $266.27. The stock has a market cap of $41.15 billion, a PE ratio of 35.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $245.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.51.

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

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

Insider Activity

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.71, for a total value of $441,786.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 118,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,177,816.79. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nalin Jain sold 7,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.09, for a total transaction of $2,095,818.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,364 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,668.76. The trade was a 55.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,512 shares of company stock worth $8,160,028. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wabtec

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wabtec during the 2nd quarter valued at $268,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Wabtec in the second quarter worth $865,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Wabtec by 20,850.0% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Wabtec by 4.2% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Wabtec by 2.5% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by 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.